


Those Moments Worth Noting

by AlexiaBlackbriar13



Series: Man's Best Friend [13]
Category: Arrow (TV 2012)
Genre: AU, Alternate Universe, Anxiety, Depression, Ficlet Collection, Gen, Man's Best Friend Verse, Oliver Queen Has PTSD, Oliver gets a service dog, One word prompt fills, Post-Traumatic Stress Disorder - PTSD, Service Dogs, Transferred from Tumblr
Language: English
Status: In-Progress
Published: 2017-03-12
Updated: 2017-03-23
Packaged: 2018-10-03 09:59:53
Rating: Teen And Up Audiences
Warnings: Creator Chose Not To Use Archive Warnings
Chapters: 32
Words: 21,189
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/10242110
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/AlexiaBlackbriar13/pseuds/AlexiaBlackbriar13
Summary: A therapist with four paws and a tail.That was what Hunter started as.He developed into so much more.(Ficlet Collection set within the Man's Best Friend 'Verse. One word prompts.)





	1. Ball

**Author's Note:**

> @queensoveratch: Ball :)

The look on Tommy’s face as he entered the living room sent chills up Oliver’s spine. He looked sheepish, but there was a grim tone to it which immediately put Oliver on alert, thinking that something bad must have happened. Lowering his book on Greek Literature to his lap, the archer narrowed his eyes as Hunter trailed in behind his best friend, ears pressed back into his skull and a low grumbling being emitted from his throat.

“We have a situation,” Tommy said. “A very serious situation.”

“What is it?”

Thea burst in at that point, shoving past Tommy and pointing at him whilst shouting accusingly, “Tommy threw Hunter’s favourite ball up onto the roof!”

An expression of sheer horror and embarrassment crossed over Tommy’s face. Thea looked triumphant and also relieved that she’d managed to shift all of the blame onto the Merlyn heir. Sighing, Oliver swung his legs off the couch and reached out to beckon Hunter over. At least now he understood why his service dog was acting so grumpy. Hunter nuzzled at his fingers and licked his hand with a huff, his eyes portraying how so utterly done he was with this situation. One of his favourite tennis balls, a bright blue one with paw prints over it, was lost.

“You were the one who told me to throw it so high into the air!” Tommy argued.

“Yeah, well, you’re the one who threw it!” Thea shot back. “And now Hunter is all upset because you lost his ball!”

“Guys,” Oliver interrupted them, massaging his temples with his fingers. “It’s a blue tennis ball.”

“Yeah?”

“We literally have an entire box of blue tennis balls,” he informed them slowly. “Because this happens so often.”

“… Oh.” Now Thea looked embarrassed. “I’ll just… go and grab a new one then.”

“You do that.”

Both Tommy and Thea slunk away, muttering angrily under their breaths at each other, which just made Oliver sigh again, scratching behind Hunter’s ear and chuckling when the service dog turned back around to level a tired look at him.

“Family,” he explained. “They’re weird sometimes, but we’ve got to love them.”


	2. Vacation

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> @imusuallyobsessed: Vacation.

“OH MY GOD, OLIVER!” Felicity shrieked, startling Oliver from where he was lying on a towel on top of the shimmering pale sand. “HUNTER’S DROWNING!”

Oliver immediately whipped his sunglasses off, dropping his book to the ground and leaping to his feet, ready to go and rescue his apparently drowning service dog. He froze, however, when instead of seeing Hunter flailing about in the sea as Felicity had suggested by telling him he was ‘drowning’, the service dog was happily bouncing along with the water lapping at his underbelly, chasing seagulls.

“Felicity,” he chuckled. “He’s not drowning, honey.”

“YES, HE IS, HE’S -” She cut herself off when she too caught sight of Hunter enthusiastically snapping at a seagull’s tail feathers, before throwing himself onto the sand, rolling over and then leaping back into the waves with a gleeful bark. “Oh.”

“I appreciate your concern for him,” Oliver continued laughing. “But he can swim.” He narrowed his eyes at her. “You _know_ he can swim. He’s gone swimming with us enough times at home.”

“Yes, well,” Felicity blushed. “Maybe I just wanted to see you in the water.” Raising an eyebrow, she smirked and crossed her arms across her chest. The light green bikini she was wearing was very distracting.

“If you wanted to see me in the water,” Oliver replied, “We could have just gone to the coast and not, ya know, flown out here to Bali and everything for a summer vacation.”

“But it’s so private here on this beach,” she fluttered her eyelashes. “And there’s nobody around… we’re all alone.” Hunter’s joyous barking made her roll her eyes. “Well, alone with your dog, that is.”

“Why exactly would you want to get me alone on a beach?”

Instead of replying, she winked, before sauntering off towards the waves. A possessive growl pooled in Oliver’s throat, and he stripped off his shirt, fully intending on proving to Felicity just how well he could ‘swim’.


	3. Wait

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> @miriam1779: "Wait."

Oliver stuck his head out from the conservatory doors, frowning when he caught sight of Diggle, He’d been searching for his service dog for almost ten minutes now, after having let him off duty for the day and seen Hunter bounding off outside with his bodyguard, blue tennis ball in his mouth. Diggle was leaning back against the table, eyes cast down to the garden.

“Hey, Dig,” Oliver said, walking up to him. “Have you seen -”

“Wait,” Diggle interrupted him, holding a hand up.

Oliver’s eyebrows shot up. Several silent beats past. “Umm…”

Diggle pointed down to the garden. “Look.”

Turning his confused gaze to where his bodyguard was pointing, Oliver’s heart leapt up into his throat when he saw Hunter lying down on his front, utterly still and silent, with a tiny fawn fumbling on stick-thin legs in front of him. Hunter was watching the baby deer with fascination, but there was no hostility in his warm eyes whatsoever. Other dogs would have immediately jumped up and chased after the fawn upon seeing it, but he was just watching, tongue lolling out his mouth and head cocked to the side.

“Oh, wow,” Oliver whispered.

The fawn wobbled and then its front legs gave out on it. It gave a pitiful cry, unable to get back up. The archer made to walk forwards, hoping that maybe if the fawn was confronted by a human it would gain an adrenalin rush and be able to dart back up and vanish into the trees.

But once again, Diggle held his hand out, this time his fingers wrapping around Oliver’s wrist as he called out softly, “Wait. Look.”

Hunter was slowly getting to his paws and approaching the fawn, ears cocked forwards in a friendly manner. The fawn squeaked in fear as the dog came forwards, but Hunter made no move to attack it. Oliver held his breath as instead, the service dog dipped down and butted his head against the fawn’s chest, helping it to its feet. As soon as the fawn was back on it’s hooves, it rushed away, disappearing into the thicket. Hunter sat back down on his haunches, tail thumping the ground happily.

“That’s one amazing dog you’ve got there, Oliver,” Diggle smiled.

“Don’t I know it.”


	4. Waggle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> @bushlaboo: Waggle

Walter appeared from the side and latched a hand on Oliver’s arm, an immensely amused and happy expression on his face as he told his step-son, “You have to see this.”

Oliver turned back to Laurel to wish her a nice evening, before following his step-father through the throes of friends and family that had turned up to celebrate Thea’s eighteenth birthday. His little sister was having a big birthday party at the weekend for all of her school acquaintances, arranged at Verdant by Tommy, but this party was for their closer friends and relatives. Walter was leading the archer out into the hallway, the softer notes of music growing louder and louder as they approached, and when Oliver caught sight of what his step-father had been telling him he had to see, he threw back his head and laughed.

Hunter was dancing. As well as a dog could dance. Felicity was giggling hysterically, Thea beside her in a fit of laughter, because the service dog was trying to copy their movements by jumping from side to side, wiggling his hind quarters and occasionally spinning in circles. His waggling, however, was anything but graceful.

“Oh my god,” Moira’s voice sounded behind him, and his mother began laughing as well, slipping her arm into Walter’s. “I hope somebody is videoing this.”

Lance was, standing in the corner with his phone aimed at Thea, Felicity and Hunter, and he was laughing so hard that Oliver couldn’t work out how he was still standing.

Oliver couldn’t hold back his snicker, hand flying to his mouth when Hunter attempted to jump up onto his hind legs and spin around. Hunter perked up at the sight of his master and bounded over with a gleeful bark, rubbing his head up against Oliver’s calf before he began his hilarious dance again, wiggling and leaping back and forth, before finishing off with a twirl and thumping down onto his behind with a proud, delighted look on his face.

“Nice dancing, buddy,” Oliver laughed, scratching behind Hunter’s ears, which made the dog preen. “I can see you’ve been taking lessons from Felicity.”

“Hey!” his girlfriend retorted, pouting. “I’m an excellent dancer!”

“I think Hunter could give you a run for your money,” Thea sniggered.


	5. Bacon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> @imusuallyobsessed: Bacon.

“I don’t understand,” Oliver repeated for what felt like the dozenth time. He and Hunter were being driven back to the mansion after their six monthly vet check up by Diggle. “I just don’t understand it.”

Diggle shrugged, keeping his eyes fixed on the road. “Have to get your head around it, man. Hunter’s overweight.”

“But he doesn’t look overweight!” Oliver argued, hand coming down so he could run his fingers through the fur on top of Hunter’s head. The service dog had his head on his lap, and was gazing up at his master solemnly, as if he’d been sentenced to starvation the moment that the dreaded words ‘no more treats’ left the vet’s lips. “We’ve been feeding him exactly how we should be. He gets two meals a day, lean meats only very occasionally, and every so often a treat. We haven’t been overfeeding him at all!” He lowered his eyes to the dog and said sadly, “I’m sorry, bud. I didn’t realise that you were overweight. I didn’t know I was putting your health at risk.”

Diggle shifted slightly up front, rubbing the back of his neck. Oliver’s eyes snapped upwards, and narrowed when he noticed that his bodyguard looked uncomfortable. Hunter raised his head, nose twitching and ears pricking forwards.

“Diggle?” Oliver said calmly.

“Yes, sir?”

“Why are you acting very uncomfortable?”

There was a tense beat of silence, and then it all came pouring out of his bodyguard. “Honestly, Oliver, I didn’t think it was going to have such a big impact, it’s just one or two slices of bacon a day, I really didn’t -”

“You’ve been sneaking Hunter bacon? EVERY DAY?” Oliver repeated, aghast.

“He just loves it so much!” was Diggle’s feeble excuse. “And he gets all happy and dopey after I feed him a slice, and he’s so adorable, and when he sits there watching you eat at breakfast he just looks so hungry…”

“Oh my god, when did this start?”

“Only two months ago -”

“Two MONTHS ago?” Oliver practically shouted. “You’ve been secretly feeding my service dog bacon slices for two months? No WONDER he’s overweight!”

“We’ll wean him off them!” Diggle frantically tried to suggest. “We’ll go back down to a slice every two days, just in case he goes into withdrawal -”

“He’s a DOG, Digg, he’s not going to go into withdrawal because we’re trying to break his bacon addiction!” The archer shook his head. “I’m never going to be able to leave Hunter alone with you again. If you’ve been feeding him bacon daily, I can’t imagine what else you’ve been giving him…”

“… he’s also very fond of pepperoni pizza.”

“DIGGLE.”


	6. Don't!

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> @lunarsilverwolfstar: Don't!

Oliver stretched out beneath the duvet as he sleeping watched Felicity unsteadily clamber out of bed, a dopey smile on his face. Staying over at his girlfriend’s apartment had miraculously lessened his insomnia, resulting in him getting around six hours sleep each night rather than the usual two or three he’d been getting. His girlfriend was getting up to grab some coffee and get ready for her day at work, and he settled back with a sigh and a grin on his face as she left the bedroom, shooting a soft smile back at him.

As soon as Felicity left the bedroom, Hunter’s head shot up beside him. Oliver went still. Hunter was still in his possessive phase when it came to Felicity - meaning that whenever the service dog was sure that Oliver was safe, and mentally okay, he would follow Felicity around. For the last four days, Oliver had been woken up by Hunter’s paws kicking him in the balls as the service dog raced off the end of the bed to trail Felicity into the kitchen.

Hunter was currently half splayed across Oliver’s lap underneath the covers, and his eyes were fixed on the doorway where Felicity had vanished. His ears twitched, and he gave a short whimper.

“Hunter,” Oliver said slowly, extremely wary by this point, because if Hunter decided to jump off and chase after Felicity, the archer would certainly need an ice pack for his groin for the rest of the day. “Don’t.”

The service dog huffed at him, and Oliver could feel the dog’s muscles tensing as he cautiously placed a hand over Hunter’s scruff. When Hunter jerked so that he was half lying down and half crouched on his fore paws, Oliver tightened his grip on the dog’s scruff.

“Hunter! Don’t!” he ordered sharply.

The service dog whined.

“ _Don’t!_ ” Oliver warned.

Hunter turned to him and levelled a pleading, desperate look at him, blue eyes shining. Oliver bit his lip. It was so hard not to give in to that face. When Hunter’s whiskers quivered and he released another whine, looking so sad that it was making the archer sad just looking at him, he sighed, giving it.

“Fine, you can - _OUMPH!_ ”

Hunter scrambled off the bed, barking happily as he flew out of the doorway to follow Felicity, his hind paws thwacking Oliver in the groin as he did so, making the archer yell out and curl up, seething silently.

Another wondering start to a new day, another icepack needed for his groin. They really needed to get Hunter his own dog bed.


	7. Snuggle

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> @sunshine0977: Snuggle.

“I taught Hunter a new command!” Tommy announced gleefully.

Oliver raised an eyebrow incredulously, and turned to the side to see how Thea and Laurel were reacting to this news. Neither of them looked impressed. Thea dipped another onion ring from her Big Belly Buster Burger into her vanilla milkshake, shaking her head and rolling her eyes, whilst Laurel just totally ignored what Tommy said and went back to organising her fries into length order on her plate.

“Guys! Come on! Isn’t this exciting?” Tommy said, looking between them all eagerly.

Oliver shook his head, giving in. “Okay, Tommy, what did you teach Hunter to do?” he asked resignedly. Hunter’s head poked up between his legs and the service dog gave a quiet huff at hearing his name being called by his master. Oliver soothed the dog by scratching under his chin gently, which made Hunter arch his head back and rumble happily.

“I need to show you,” Tommy said. “Go and stand over there.” He pointed to the other side of Big Belly Burger, near where Diggle and Carly were sitting and having a conversation. Luckily, it wasn’t very busy, so nobody would be around to judge Tommy repeatedly calling a command and then Hunter not obeying it, just looking at him weirdly. “Oh, and make sure that Hunter stays here with us.”

Oliver did so, rolling his eyes at Thea and Laurel, who both looked equally amused by these antics. Commanding Hunter to stay, he walked to the other side of Big Belly Burger. Hunter tilted his head sideways at his master, remaining seated on his haunches just beside the booth where they’d been sitting.

“Okay!” Tommy was acting way too exuberant for Oliver’s liking. “Brace yourself, Oliver.” _Brace himself? What for?_ “Hunter! Snuggles with Oliver!”

Before the archer could even comprehend what was going to, Hunter jumped to his feet and raced towards him, before jumping high into the air and into Oliver’s arms, hind paws on his knees and forepaws wrapped around his shoulders, licking and snuffling at his master’s face enthusiastically, tail wagging. Immediately, all the other people within Big Belly Burger burst into applause and laughter, some of them even taking their phones out to snap pictures. Diggle and Carly were both in hysterics at the shocked look on the archer’s face.

“Snuggles,” Oliver repeated dazedly, and in response, Hunter began eagerly licking his face again, giving a short, happy bark. If the archer hadn’t been so strong and balanced on his feet, the dog surely would have bowled him over. “That’s definitely a new one.”


	8. Game

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> @acheaptrickandacheesyoneline: Game.

Oliver, Felicity and Diggle were taking Hunter to his first baseball game.

It also happened to be the first baseball game that Oliver was going to watch after his return from the island, but that didn’t matter. What did matter, was getting Hunter into the spirit of baseball. The Starling City Arrows (newly renamed in the Green Arrow’s honour, after the vigilante had been heralded as a national hero on live television by the President of the United States) were taking on the San Diego Padres. And Felicity and Diggle were determined that the four of them, including Hunter, should properly support the Starling Arrows by decking out in full memorabilia.

“I look ridiculous,” Oliver gritted out.

“No, you look dashingly handsome,” Felicity replied with a beaming grin.

She’s managed to wrestle Oliver into a Starling Arrows shirt, with a baseball cap and green war paint to match. He even had the stupid sunglasses they sold in the official store with the green arrowheads on the lenses.

“Okay,” Oliver tilted his head. “Hunter looks ridiculous.”

The service dog glanced up from where he was trotting obediently at Oliver’s side. Hunter was wearing a custom made green and black Starling Arrows jersey for dogs, and also had a custom made baseball cap on his head, that allowed his ears to stick up out of it. His collar had a gleaming pendant of the team’s logo hanging from it.

“Hunter looks amazing,” Diggle retorted. He was dressed just like Oliver was, except he also had green sneakers and the official team shorts and socks on.

“Guys, come on,” Oliver pleaded. “This is stupid. We all look stupid. People are going to laugh at us!”

“This is what everybody does, Oliver!” Felicity rolled her eyes. “Come on, get into the baseball spirit!”

“I’m overdosing on baseball spirit,” Oliver deadpanned.

Felicity tugged at his arm, pulling him to a stop. She cupped his cheeks and pressed a kiss to his lips and Oliver’s eyes fluttered shut. As soon as his girlfriend pulled away, he exhaled, relaxing, and managed a small smile.

“There’s that smile,” she whispered happily. “You won’t regret this, Oliver. I promise.”

He sighed, grumbling, “Okay.”

Turned out, he did come to regret it. Somebody took a video that featured Oliver’s wide eyed expression with Hunter sitting between Oliver’s legs, barking in a frenzy as the Starling Arrows scored a home run, and it ended up on the big screen, and then trended on social media for the next four days.

At least they hadn’t captured the moment when Oliver had celebrated another home run so much that he accidentally threw his entire soda in Diggle’s face?


	9. Date night

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> @imusuallyobsessed: Date night

“It’s date night, Hunter. You know what that means?”

Hunter cocked his head sideways at his master in confusion.

“Don’t look at me like that. You’re far from innocent. That’s why we need to have this conversation in the first place.”

Oliver was seated on the floor, cross legged and resting back against the couch in the Queen mansion’s living room. He was dressed in a tux and he was probably creasing his pants, but he didn’t care. He and Hunter needed to have this conversation. His service dog was lying down on his front a metre away from Oliver, blue eyes blinking lazily and tail occasionally thumping against the ground.

“Date night,” Oliver repeated. “With Felicity. And I will not have tonight being a repeat of all the other date nights, do you understand me?”

Hunter’s ear flicked and he yawned.

“I will not have you stealing Felicity’s attention tonight,” Oliver told him sternly. “You’ve had her attention for the half a dozen other dates we’ve been on together. But tonight, that’s not happening. Tonight, I will woo her and then I will walk her home, and then she and I will spend the rest of the night having spectacular sex together. Do you understand?”

The service dog laid his head down on his forepaws with another yawn.

“She’s my date, Hunter. _MY DATE._ Not yours. You are not dating her. She is not your girlfriend. Felicity is mine.”

Hunter closed his eyes, snuffling.

“I would have asked Thea to watch you,” Oliver said, shaking his head. “Would have had her take you to another table across the room and keep you on leash, so that you can’t come running over and stealing Felicity’s attention like you always do. But Thea’s on a date with Roy, and I refuse to ruin their date night. But I also refuse to allow you to ruin _mine_ , do you understand? Felicity is _my_ girlfriend, _my_ date tonight, and I _will_ make this the best date ever. Do you promise me that you will behave tonight? That you will allow me to make this night all about Felicity and I?

Yawning again, Hunter flipped over onto his side.

“Seriously, Hunter. Felicity said she’s ready for the next step. The aim of tonight is for us both to get laid. And by that, I mean, lay each other. And I really need you not to distract Felicity from that goal. Do you promise not to steal Felicity’s attention?”

Hunter began snoring.

Oliver nodded. “Good. Glad we have an understanding.”


	10. Love

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> @valin-dana: Love!

Hunter loved a lot of things in the world. He had ever since he was a puppy. But after years of service, military and psychiatric-wise, he had developed a capacity to love that was enormous.

He loved his blue tennis balls, that Oliver, Diggle and Tommy would throw for him, and then wrestle to get back.

He loved the bacon slices that Diggle snuck him when Oliver wasn’t looking (and the occasional pepperoni pizza slice as well, but what his master didn’t know, didn’t hurt him).

He loved the baby carrots that Detective Lance kept in a bag in his pocket, just in case he ever ran into Oliver, that the detective fed Hunter whilst giving him a gentle, fond pat after he’d screamed something at his master again.

He loved the massages that Laurel would give him after a particularly hard day at work, the belly rubs that she would offer when they were all together for a movie night and he was splayed out over their laps, panting happily.

He loved the hugs that Thea would greet him with in the mornings when he and Oliver went down for breakfast.

He loved the chin scratches that Moira and Walter gave him to praise him for a good day’s work before he lead Oliver up the stairs to his bedroom for the night.

He loved the Foundry, where his master would leave him every night, making Hunter sad and angry and worried, but also where his master would come back to him every night, alive and well.

He loved his home. He loved his and Oliver’s friends and family.

He adored Felicity. And most of all, he loved Oliver.

And when Oliver and Felicity’s daughter came into the world, he loved her as well.

That was his life, and Hunter wouldn’t have it any other way.


	11. Foundry

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> @imusuallyobsessed: Foundry.

The Foundry was one of the those places on the Earth that simultaneously represented darkness and the light, despite the oxymoron it created. Oliver built it to be his base of operations to start with, but then it clearly developed into something much more meaningful.

Every night, he would turn to the darker side of his personality, don his Hood, shun his mental illnesses and stride straight back into the darkness, greeting it as if it was an old friend. Hunter always got antsy and unhappy whenever he caught sight of Oliver pulling up his hood, shading his eyes, and after three weeks of simply watching Oliver hood up, snatch up his bow and leave, the service dog had started letting his opinion on the matter be heard. He would whine, lying down or standing in front of the stairs, and he would tug at the sleeves of the Hood jacket with his teeth, as if trying to tear it off his master. Oliver would push him away, and leave his service dog behind in the dark basement whilst he embraced the darkness inside of him in order to right the wrongs done to his city.

It never got any easier, though.

“I have to go, Hunter,” Oliver said, flipping his hood up and shouldering his quiver, wincing when his service dog gave another long, crooning whine. “I’m sorry, bud, but I have to do this. I know you can’t understand why, but trust me when I tell you, that this is necessary.”

He turned to pick up his bow, only to find that Hunter had picked it up in his mouth and was standing several metres away, ears flat against his skull and a growl bubbling up from his throat. He had a stony, cold look in his blue eyes which made the archer slightly wary of the dog.

“Hunter. Give me back my bow.”

Hunter dropped the bow to the ground and placed one of his paws on top of it, fixing his master with another hard gaze. Oliver swallowed and walked forwards, leaning down to pick it up, but the service dog butted him with his head, forcing him backwards.

“Hunter,” Oliver tried. “Please. Give me my bow.”

 _No_ , Hunter seemed to reply, this time placing both of his paws on top of the weapon as he settled down so he was lying on top of it. _Not getting this back._

The archer shook his head, frustrated. “I’ll come back.”

Hunter hefted a snarl, and it’s meaning was clear. _But what happens when you don’t? What happens if one night, you don’t come back? What happens if one night, you’re injured and you need me, BUT I’M STUCK DOWN HERE? WAITING FOR YOU TO COME BACK?_

“Hunter, I promise you,” Oliver said, voice softer now. “I promise you that I will do whatever it takes to get back to you. Every night I go out there, I will do my damn best to return to you. I promise.”

Sniffling, Hunter finally stepped back from the bow and allowed the archer to pick it up. Sighing in relief, Oliver ducked down to grab it, only to find he had Hunter’s head buried in his stomach, the service dog snuffling affectionately at him, which made a smile crack at his lips.

The Foundry was dark, but when Hunter was there, it was filled with light.


	12. Jump

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> @miriam1779: "Jump!"

“Oliver! Come on, jump in!”

He eyed the water warily, shifting nervously on the balls of his feet. The Queen mansion swimming pool was not daunting, and not scary, but the still water within it certainly was, especially to somebody who had nearly drowned over half a dozen times. Moira, Walter and Thea were already in the pool, his parents settled comfortably on the steps with glasses of wine in hand, whilst Thea was more partial to doing a few lengths before lazing around on a float, sunbathing. Right now, however, his little sister was hovering in the water, trying to encourage the archer on getting in.

“Oliver! Just _jump_!”

“Thea, stop it!” he snapped, swallowing. Oliver took a step back from the pool, dizziness crashing over him. “I’ll get in when I want to get in!”

“But you’re taking so loooooooong!” Thea complained, hitting her fist on the water.

He almost flinched when the splashes hit his bare feet. It was only Hunter’s firm, furry form pressing into his legs that kept Oliver from bolting. His service dog gave a soft whine, blinking up at him reassuringly with an expression that clearly said _You can do this, but only do so when you’re ready._ Oliver reached down with a slightly trembling hand to ruffle Hunter’s scruff, and exhaled forcefully when the dog licked his palm, brushing past him to stand on the pool edge.

“Oliverrrrrr -”

“Thea, I don’t -” he swallowed. “I’m sorry, I’m really not comfortable with this.”

Concern washed over her. “Oh. I didn’t mean to pressure you. If you don’t want to get in, you don’t have to.”

But he wanted to get in. He wanted to take a swim with his family, but his fear of still water was still a large one to get over. Hunter whined again, ears perking when Oliver’s gaze flew to the dog. Slowly, he lowered himself to the pool edge so he was sitting with his feet dangling into the water. It took him a minute to ground himself, but eventually everything settled.

Hunter snuffled into his collarbone, telling the archer without words, _I’m here for you. I’m not leaving._

Taking a huge breath, Oliver allowed himself to slip into the water. A tremor went through him as the sudden coldness rushed over his form, but the water actually wasn’t that cold, and he soon found his body adapting to the temperature. Nothing like the harsh, freezing waters around Lian Yu. He took another moment to focus himself on the fact that he was home, and it was just a swimming pool, and that his feet were firmly planted on the poor floor so there was no chance of drowning, and then Oliver breathed out in relief. He was fine. He was completely and utterly fine. Thea looked delighted he’d decided to get in, and pressed a kiss to his cheek, before returning to doing front crawl lengths.

Hunter was standing at the edge of the pool now, head cocked sideways.

Oliver grinned and patted the top of the water. “Hunter, jump in!”

Tail wagging ferociously, the service dog launched himself into the water with a gleeful howl, creating waves throughout the pool and pretty much soaking Moira, who squawked. Oliver laughed when Hunter paddled up to him and began licking all over his face, as if praising the archer for getting over his fear.

Yeah, pools weren’t that bad.


	13. Calm

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> @somewhatinvisible: Calm.

Oliver Queen hated loud noises.

It didn’t matter what kind of noise it was. It could be a smashing glass, a backfiring car, even something as normal as somebody raising their voice.

Back on the island, loud noises had meant inevitable suffering. The sound of sudden explosions and gunfire had trained the archer to react to any startling loud noise as if it would kill him. Slade had particularly emphasised the connection between loudness and danger. In Hong Kong, that training had come in handy so many times and it was engrained into his very being, keeping him alive again on the island with Reiter and then again when he worked for the Bratva in Russia.

So when he arrived home in Starling City, it wasn’t as if Oliver could just switch that part of himself off. He was always going to be alert and aware of his surroundings, on edge if there were threats present, uncomfortable if he wasn’t in control.

It was part of the reason why he’d reacted so badly when the paparazzi had cornered him after they had first gone public about Oliver having a service dog. They were all shouting at him, and he hadn’t been able to cope, his threat processing going haywire which had sent him into shutdown. It had been months since he’d arrived back now, and he still couldn’t bare crowds, or being in a room with more than half a dozen people, without that flight, flight and freeze response kicking in.

Humans were loud, and they were chaos.

Hunter, on the other hand, was calm.

The pup had immediately seemed to catch on to the fact that Oliver didn’t like loud noises, the moment that they’d gone out into the city during the archer’s trial run with the dog. Whenever they were in a noisy situation, Hunter would guide him out of it as quickly and quietly as possible and comfort him until the archer was okay again. Oliver knew that if he hadn’t had the service dog by his side during court cases, when visiting Felicity at QC or even walking down the street… he would have flipped by now. He was teetering on the edge of mental health, and Hunter was the only thread holding him back from falling straight off into the abyss.

Hunter was calm. And calm was good. Calm was pleasant, and quiet, and relaxing.

Oliver liked calm.


	14. Baby

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> @fallingmeleth: Baby.

“Felicity, it’s okay. Stop worrying. Hunter will be completely fine with Annalise,” Oliver soothed, rubbing his wife’s shoulder and gazing down at the tiny, three day old baby girl that Felicity was nursing. Her eyes were scrunched shut and Annalise had a teeny hand wrapped around one of Oliver’s fingers possessively. It had been a stressful week with many complications, but Annalise was finally with them, safe and sound. Smiling brilliantly down at the baby, he sighed when he caught sight of Felicity’s anxious expression. “Felicity, I promise you, Hunter will be fine with her.”

“But what if he thinks that now we have Annalise, we might love him less?” Felicity whispered, tears welling up in her eyes. She always did get a bit emotional when nursing Lizzie, and Oliver could only bite back his grin, pressing a kiss to her forehead with a chuckle. “I’m serious, hun!”

“Let’s get Hunter in here to meet Lizzie first,” he suggested. “We can go from there.”

He texted Thea to come in, and his little sister opened the private room’s door a minute later, straining to keep Hunter back as he yanked on his leash, whining as the service dog desperately tried to get back to his master. Hunter had been absent for the hospital for two days, not being allowed into the maternity ward during Felicity’s labour. He’d been particularly protective and clingy over both Oliver and Felicity in the last nine months, understanding that they had a new pup arriving into their family, and Thea had called Oliver last night to tell him that Hunter had been howling all evening, upset about being separated.

Oliver knelt down and nodded to Thea, saying softly, “You can let him go, sis.” Thea finally let go of Hunter’s leash and the dog rushed into the archer’s arms, slobbering and licking his face happily, entire body wiggling ecstatically. “Hey, bud. Good to see you too, buddy. Missed you too.” He wrapped a hand around Hunter’s collar gently, stroking his ears as he hugged him tightly. “You wanna meet your new charge?”

Heart in his throat, Oliver lead the dog over to Felicity’s hospital bed, and smiled when his wife’s hand dipped down to ruffle Hunter’s fur and the Husky mix preened. The archer tapped the side of the bed and the service dog jumped up obediently, forepaws resting on the bed. Oliver stepped over him so the dog’s hind quarters were between his legs.

Annalise had stopped feeling, and was now lying on Felicity’s chest, bright blue eyes blinking around the room as she clutched at her mother with little podgy fingers. Hunter’s eyes noticeably widened and he slowly lowered his head until it was resting on Felicity’s arms, gazing at the baby with awe and wonder. His ears and whiskers were twitching and the dog made a soft noise, which caused Annalise to stir and blindly reach out with one of her hands.

Oliver held his breath as her tiny fingers landed on Hunter’s muzzle. Hunter froze, ear flicking backwards, but then he let out a friendly huff and pulled back to lick at her fingers. Felicity quickly grabbed a wet wipe to clean the dog saliva off Annalise’s fingers, but she was grinning.

Hunter’s tail was thumping against Oliver’s calf gleefully, and the archer scratched at his neck, whispering in praise, “Good boy, Hunter. Good boy. This is Annalise. She’s very new and very small, so she’s going to need you to protect her.”

“I don’t think that’s going to be a problem, Oliver,” Felicity murmured, laughing when Hunter nuzzled at Annalise’s side affectionately. “In fact, I think getting Hunter away from Lizzie is gonna be the problem. He’s already infatuated.”

“Well, at least he isn’t trying to eat her.”


	15. Glasses

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> @imusuallyobsessed: Glasses.

Oliver was lying on his front in the middle of Felicity’s apartment, leaning on one elbow as he completed yet another 1000 piece puzzle. He was horrifically bored, but his girlfriend was at work, and she had given him a stern talking to that morning after she’d found out that Oliver hadn’t been doing any of his therapy exercises given to him by the ARGUS therapist Waller had forced him to visit. Oliver had insisted to her that the exercises were stupid - Amanda was just pissed off at him about him ruining her mission, trying to get pay back.  
Puzzles were one of the exercises he was meant to do. Apparently, according to the therapist, puzzles would calm him down and teach him discipline, so that the archer would be able to gain more control over his emotions. As soon as Thea, Tommy and Felicity had heard about the puzzles, they had immediately brought back over a dozen from them from the store.

Practically slamming the last piece of the puzzle into place, Oliver rolled back triumphantly, rubbing his eyes with a tired sigh. He really didn’t have the patience for puzzles. Felicity could go on and on about how patience during archery and stake outs was the same as patience doing puzzles, but the archer wouldn’t believe her. Puzzles were not tedious and mind achingly boring.  
Hunter huffed from the side, and Oliver reached his hand out absentmindedly to find the service dog’s scruff.

He frowned when his fingers waved through empty air, raising his head to call out, “Hunter?”

Hunter’s head popped up from behind the sofa and he gave a short rumble in response. Oliver blinked confusedly at the sight of his girlfriend’s glasses sitting lopsided on top of the dog’s muzzle.

“Whatcha doing, buddy?” he chuckled.

Hunter snorted and emerged from behind the sofa, sitting down in front of Oliver. Felicity’s spare pair of glasses slipped down his muzzle but when Hunter seemed to realise this, he reared his head back. They were magically able to remain on his face, and the archer couldn’t help but start laughing.

(Yes I know, it's not a husky mix and it's not Hunter, but JUST IMAGINE THIS WITH HIM)

“Dog Felicity,” he managed to get out, before he collapsed onto his back and in another fit of laughter. “Oh my god, I’ve got to take a photo of you. Stay there, Hunter.”

He jumped up to grab his phone and then an idea struck him. Snickering under his breath, Oliver snagged one of Felicity’s old MIT books from their bookshelf and opened it onto a random page in the middle of the book, before commanding Hunter to lie down. One he was lying on his front, Oliver shifted the book under his crossed paws and then adjusted the glasses, and when the archer pulled back, getting the full image of Hunter wearing Felicity’s glasses with her MIT book, he began laughing so hard that his abdomen ached.

He snapped a photo and immediately texted it to his little sister, best friend, bodyguard and girlfriend. _Screw puzzles, this is my new form of entertainment._

 _Are those my glasses???_ Felicity responded.

_Yh. What u gonna do abt it?_

_Ok I’ve got to admit, he does look pretty cute,_ Felicity replied after a minute.

_It’s Dog You._

_No, I think Felicity would be more of a Pomeranian,_ Diggle texted back almost instantly.

_HEY!_

Oliver glanced over at Hunter and clapped his hand over his mouth, sniggering, when he saw that the service dog was now trying to look down at the glasses on his nose with a cross eyed, confused expression. He snapped another picture of that and sent that as well, for good measure.

 _I wonder what he would look like in a tux,_ Thea texted back.

Screw it, Oliver was never doing puzzles again. His new stress reducing hobby was going to be dressing Hunter up in different outfits.


	16. Ceremony

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> @uss-sherlolly: Ceremony.

Oliver held his breath as he waited at the alter, Diggle and Tommy as his best men at his side, for his bride to appear. He still couldn’t believe that he was getting married to Felicity. After years of pain, suffering and hardship, sometimes he couldn’t understand how his life had ended up so perfect. He had an incredible service dog, an amazing team of friends and family, and within an hour, he would have an absolutely stunning wife. He exhaled shakily and smoothed down the lapels of his tux, shifting anxiously on his feet. 

“You’re wearing a hole into the floor,” Tommy teased in a whisper from behind him. “Stop shuffling around so much, buddy, we can tell you’re nervous.”

He swallowed, whispering back, “Is it that obvious?”

“Everything’s going to go great, Oliver,” Diggle reassured him, a genuine smile on his face.

Glancing around worriedly, Oliver bit his lip. Their wedding was a rather private ceremony, with only close friends and family here. Roy, Laurel, Walter and Moira were sitting in the front row, and then Team Flash and some of the Legends were in the row behind them.

The music that he and Felicity had agreed on as the pre-wedding march started and everything seemed to freeze around Oliver as his head whipped towards the doors, breath catching in his throat. Lyla and three year old Sara appeared, Lyla leading the toddler down the aisle as she dropped handfuls of white rose petals onto the floor at irregular intervals, every so often darting back down to pick them up, which made everybody grin.

Then Thea and Hunter appeared in the doorway, and Oliver’s grin widened. His little sister looked beautiful in her emerald green bridesmaid dress, but Oliver’s attention was mostly on his service dog. Hunter was trotting along beside Thea, fur groomed and wearing a tux with a mini bowtie tied into his collar. He was holding a small basket in his mouth, which Oliver knew contained his and Felicity’s wedding rings.

When Hunter caught sight of Oliver, however, all of the rehearsals went out of the window. He must have been able to tell that his master was wracked with nerves, because immediately, Hunter whined and his tail began wagging fiercely. Thea seemed to realise what was going on because she lunged to grab the dog by the collar, but Hunter was already bounding up the aisle towards Oliver, despite everybody’s cries of protest and exasperation.

Oliver let out a sharp laugh, kneeling down so he could absorb the impact of his service dog colliding with him. He wrapped his arms around Hunter’s neck and buried his head in his scruff, whispering somewhat sarcastically, “Nice job keeping to your cues, bud.” Hunter just licked his ear fondly in response, making sure that he was alright.

“Sorry,” Thea whispered loudly. “Couldn’t get a grip of his collar.”

“It’s fine,” the archer assured her quietly, pressing a kiss to the dog’s forehead before standing again. “He must have sensed I was nervous.”

Tommy cut in, smirking as he said, “And he couldn’t resist wanting some last minute snuggles with Oliver whilst he’s still a bachelor,” with a wink.

The service dog drew away just as the wedding march began, Thea managing to grab a hold of his collar and drag him back into place, muttering about Oliver not encouraging him. Oliver brushed himself down to rid himself of dog hair, and then turned towards the doorway, buffing his chest out and lifting his head in anticipation.

When Felicity appeared, his breath was stolen away.

Just as quickly as his heart had been stolen by her, that first time Hunter had bounded up to her in Queen Consolidated and she had greeted him with a beautiful smile.


	17. Girlfriend

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> @imusuallyobsessed: Girlfriend

“Hunter’s got a girlfriend.”

Oliver barely glanced up from his book. He was reading another piece Greek Literature whilst they were at the park. Thea and Tommy had complained about Oliver taking up all of Hunter’s off duty time, so he’d suggested that they all head to the park for an hour or two, and the archer allowed his little sister and best friend to play around with his service dog, Diggle supervising, whilst he caught up on some light reading.

“Excuse me?” he quirked an eyebrow up at Thea.

His little sister pointed towards where the service dog was bounding around a small toy American Eskimo dog, who was watching him on her haunches with her head cocked sideways. Hunter had a tennis ball in his mouth and was attempting to tempt the toy Eskimo into playing with him.

“He’s just playing,” the archer dismissed.

“Nuh uh,” Thea shook her head. “Look again.”

Rolling his eyes, Oliver shot a look over in that direction once again. Diggle and Tommy were trying to regain Hunter’s attention to no avail. The Husky mix was lying on his belly, tennis ball shockingly abandoned beside him as he whined, nudging the Eskimo’s shoulder. The toy Eskimo, however, seemed to be acting coy, still sitting calmly in front of the service dog with her head tilted to the side.

“He’s still trying to get her to play with him.”

“You’re blind, brother, your service dog has got a crush.”

“Thea, that toy Eskimo is a third of Hunter’s size,” Oliver reminded her. “And he’s neutered.”

Thea gave him a shit eating grin. “Know who he reminds me of, acting like that?”

He sighed, entertaining her by asking, “Okay, who?”

“You and Felicity, just before you started dating.”

Oliver snorted, but taking another glance over at the two dogs, he could see what Thea meant. He was Hunter, interested and not very subtle about his attraction and intentions at all, and Felicity was the toy Eskimo, amused by it all but also secretly a little interested. Diggle and Tommy were sheepishly attempting to drag Hunter away from the little dog by the collar now, as the toy Eskimo’s owner had appeared and was suspiciously eyeing the Husky mix, protectively standing over her dog.

“Okay, so say I see what you mean,” Oliver allowed. “What exactly is your point?”

Thea winked. “The roguishly handsome, tall, brooding ones always get the girl, Ollie.”


	18. Costume

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> @melsanfo: Costume.

“I’m sorry. Can you repeat that please?”

Felicity rolled her eyes, and Oliver blinked owlishly at her. She began getting her keys out for her apartment, as they had just arrived back from a late night at the Foundry. Hunter had remained behind in their home due to his recent operation. “You heard me perfectly well, hun. Don’t act like your hearing is going. You can hear somebody’s breathing from three rooms away.”

Oliver nodded slowly. “I’m just… having trouble wrapping my head around this. You’re saying that you got Cisco to make a new Arrow suit.”

“Yes.”

“For Halloween next week.”

“Yes.”

“… for Hunter.”

Felicity nodded enthusiastically, unlocking the door and stepping inside.

Oliver face palmed, following her into the living room and switching on the lights as he went. “Felicity. How exactly are we going to explain to my mother, Walter and the public how we managed to get a hold of a dog version of the Arrow’s suit, made of same materials and looking exactly the same?”

“Don’t be ridiculous, Oliver,” Felicity scoffed, heading towards their bedroom. “It’s not made of the same materials. Cisco figured that since it was just a costume, it didn’t need any kevlar weave or arm guards.”

His girlfriend strode out of sight to go and greet Hunter, and Oliver hurried behind her. Yawning, the service dog raised his head tired from where he was lying in a nest of blankets on top of their bed. He had recovered somewhat from his operation, but he still got exhausted after a full day of work looking after the archer, so he had to take several naps to rest up. Perching on the edge of the bed, Oliver leant down to press a gentle kiss to Hunter’s muzzle, smiling when the Husky mix whined softly in reply, licking his jaw affectionately. Felicity ran her fingers down the dog’s side, scratching a spot on his haunch that made the dog made a low rumbling sound of happiness.

“… So you don’t think the Arrow costume for Halloween is a good idea?”

Seeing the disappointed and disgruntled expression on Felicity’s face, the archer sighed and dragged one of his hands over his face. “I suppose it wouldn’t be… _that_ bad,” he gritted out.

His girlfriend’s face lit up, and Hunter’s tail thumped against the duvet. “So we can dress him up as the Arrow?”

“… Fine.”

* * *

On Halloween night, when the seventeenth person commented on how amazing Hunter looked at Thea’s grand Halloween party, Oliver begrudgingly had to admit that Felicity’s idea to dress the service dog up as the Arrow had been a great one.

It went a little too far, however, when the archer and Hunter won ‘Best Dressed Couple’ of the event. Thea and Felicity were bent over with hysterical laughter as Oliver was forced on stage, wide eyed and bemused, to collect the trophy, Hunter bouncing gleefully at his heels. Oliver, who was in a matching outfit dressed up as Arsenal, much to the entirety of Team Arrow’s amusement, was asked if some reporters could take some photos of him and Hunter to go on the front cover of the Starling City Star.

“So, who was right, and who was right?” Felicity sang smugly, skipping up to Oliver and adjusting Daenerys outfit. She and Diggle had teamed up, much to the archer’s amusement - Diggle had come as a dragon, Cisco outfitting him with the entire costume so that he even had a mini flame thrower. (Lyla had confiscated it half way through the party after Dig had a few drinks). He actually looked pretty good. “I haven’t spoken to a single person who hasn’t complimented Hunter’s costume.”

“Yeah, yeah, rub it in,” Oliver muttered.

“Next year, I think he should dress up as the Flash,” Felicity teased.

“Felicity, honey. I don’t care how good Hunter looks tonight - you are not dressing my service dog up in skin tight red leather,” Oliver told her firmly.

“…”

“… What?”

“It’s not leather. It’s reinforced tripolymer.”


	19. Song.

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> @sunshine0977: Song.

“ _If you’re evil, and you’re on the rise, you can count on the four of us taking you down -_ ”

Oliver nudged Felicity in the side, muttering out of the corner of his mouth to her, “What’s Thea singing?”

“ _Cause we’re good and evil never beats us, we’ll win the fight and then go out for pizzas._ ”

Felicity glanced up briefly from where she was writing out lines of code for the new satellite, WT-13, she and STAR Labs had just set up. “Hmm? Oh, she’s singing the Steven Universe theme tune. We had a marathon at the weekend, I think she might be obsessed.”

Oliver and Felicity were sitting on the stools in front of Verdant’s bar, Felicity working whilst Oliver was helping his little sister out by being the taste tester for a few of her new cocktail recipes. Hunter was resting on his haunches behind the bar, moving out of the way every so often when Thea had just squeeze past him. The service dog was watching the young Queen woman with interest as she sang, and Oliver realised - Hunter had never really heard singing before. Sure, he might have heard Felicity’s muffled, off-key tunes from the shower, but nobody had directly sang in front of him before.

“ _We - are the Crystal Gems!_ ” Thea continued, tone happy and enthusiastic as she hopped over Hunter to lavishly lay out a colourless cocktail with a frosted cherry in it in front of her brother. “ _We’ll always save the day! And if you think we can’t, we’ll always find a way!_ ”

Oliver shook his head. “I have no idea what’s going on.”

Felicity joined in at that point, lifting her head and pushing her glasses up her nose to sing, “ _That’s why the people of this world, believe in -_ ”

“ _Thea, O-li-ver and F’liss!_ ” Thea finished with a cocky smile.

Hunter jumped up onto the bar and gave a joyous bark, making Felicity laugh and ruffle the fur on the top of his head.

“And Hunter!”


	20. Marathon

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> @imusuallyobsessed: Marathon

"This is cruel and unusual punishment,” Felicity huffed, already out of breath and lagging behind the archer as they took a morning run, desperately reaching her arm out as she begged to be dragged along.

Oliver smiled amusedly at her and pulled her forwards but promptly let go, and within seconds she was lagging again. Hunter pulled back to jog happily by her heel, side brushing up against her calf every so often.

“This isn’t punishment, hun. We’re doing this for fun.”

She panted out, “Can’t we take a break?”

“Not yet, we’ve only gone seven miles. We can walk for five minutes when we reach ten.”

Felicity groaned.

Oliver and Felicity were training for the Starling City Marathon to raise money for the Rebecca Merlyn Foundation. Tommy and Laurel were already participating, due to their active roles within the Foundation, and they’d managed to hock the archer and his girlfriend into running it as well. It was five months away, but Oliver had informed Felicity that they both needed to start training for it now, if they wanted to complete it properly, in good time. (He also refused to lose to Diggle, who was also taking part). He and Felicity usually took morning runs anyway to exercise themselves and Hunter - but they were normally around five miles long. The archer had insisted they up it to ten miles in preparation, and then for the last two months of training, increase it to fifteen.

Felicity was not reacting to this very well. She was fit, and she worked out regularly, but she was not a runner. A swimmer, yes, but definitely not a long distance runner. Oliver wasn’t particularly a good long distance runner either, but due to his increased stamina and durability developed on the island and working for ARGUS and the Bratva, he was adapting quicker. He could already manage a fifteen mile stretch without stopping. Felicity needed breaks every ten, and he couldn’t exactly blame her. She was doing remarkably well for somebody who had only been training for two weeks.

Hunter barking at him angrily from behind startled Oliver out of his head, and he paused with a sigh when he realised that Felicity was not only lagging a little, but had completely stopped running altogether. She was still going, walking briskly to try and keep up, but her forehead was beaded with sweat, her face was flushed and she was panting for air. Guilt struck the archer when he realised that he shouldn’t have pushed her, not this morning - he’d had a bad nightmare overnight, resulting in Felicity staying up with him for several hours, and whilst he could function fine with four hours sleep, his girlfriend wasn’t used to it.

He walked back towards her and slipped an arm around her waist when she slumped against him, tired. “Are you okay?” the archer asked concernedly.

“I’m dizzy,” she croaked.

He nodded. They’d only had protein bars for breakfast, since having a too full stomach when running could result in stitches, and nausea. Without a single word, he swept Felicity off her feet and into his arms bridal style, and grinned when she squealed. She quickly wrapped her arms around his neck, and Hunter jumped around them excitedly.

“Let’s go home,” Oliver whispered, pressing a kiss into her hair with a smile. “I’ll make you a chocolate milkshake and we can eat Oreos on the couch all morning, if you want.”

“That sounds divine,” Felicity groaned. “Yes, please.” She wiggled her feet as the archer turned them around beginning to head back to her apartment block. “I honestly don’t think I’m going to be able to run twenty six miles, Oliver. Hmm, maybe I should hitch Hunter up to a chariot or something. That would be cool.”

“It would be,” Oliver tilted his head. “But not very good for Hunter’s back or bones, I’m afraid. No dog chariots for this marathon, my love.”

“Maybe you could carry me like this for the actual marathon?” she suggested cheekily.

“Don’t think so, hun,” he chuckled.

* * *

When it came to the actual marathon, Felicity ended up running twenty-three miles, and then sprained her ankle. For the last three miles, Oliver carried her bridal style to the finish line, Hunter bounding circles around them both and howling joyously when Felicity jumped down and attacked Oliver with a kiss.

Not only did they beat Laurel and Tommy, they also beat Diggle.


	21. ARGUS

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> @nvwhovian: ARGUS.

Oliver, Diggle and Felicity had been asked to turn up at ARGUS for a mission proposal, and whilst the archer was adamant they would not accept it, Diggle said that it wouldn’t hurt to hear them out. If they completed the mission for ARGUS, it would mean they had a favour in their back pocket, and they never knew when they might need to call in that favour to get out of trouble with the police, FBI or CIA.

“How come you’re in this room?” Lyla asked confusedly, when she arrived to act as the Team Arrow-ARGUS negotiator.

The room was not actually a proper briefing or conference room, and it was in fact a small cell like space that had a bullet proof glass screen to cut off an observation room. It was usually used for interrogations of potentially dangerous or violent suspects.

“That would be because of Hunter,” Oliver replied, feet up on the table as he leant back into his chair, bored. He was examining his cuticles as he knew that would annoy whoever was monitoring them using the CCTV camera in the corner. The service dog was resting on the floor between Oliver and Felicity’s chairs, and he raised his head, ears perking, at the sound of his name. “He doesn’t like Waller very much.”

“Hunter’s met Waller before?” Diggle questioned, surprised.

“Yep,” the archer nodded. “And he does not like her. Not one bit.”

“Are we talking Malcolm Merlyn level of dislike, or your mother level?”

Oliver gave a short laugh. “Oh, it’s another brand of dislike entirely. Waller didn’t make a good first impression, let’s just say that.” Narrowing his eyes, Oliver motioned towards the door, obviously hearing somebody approaching. “Might want to stay back when she appears in that observation room.”

Felicity, Diggle and Lyla discovered why exactly the archer had made that statement when Waller entered the observation room and walked up to the bulletproof glass, files in hand. Before she could even begin to speak, Hunter leapt to his paws and with a ferocious snarl, threw himself at the glass, barking furiously. His claws made a horrific grating noise on the glass as he scratched his paws over it, trying to jump through to presumably sink his fangs into Waller’s throat.

“Oh my god,” Felicity whispered, eyes wide. “He’s never reacted to _anybody_ like that before!”

“Like I said,” Oliver sighed. “Bad first impression.”

“What happened!?” Lyla questioned, looking completely shocked at how the service dog was reacting. Hunter was usually so calm and serene that seeing him going wild and attempting to attack somebody was probably alarming, if you hadn’t seen it happen before.

“Long story,” Oliver answered. “Not the time for it now.” Raising his voice, he said loudly, “Might want to get this over as quickly as possible, Amanda. I don’t think my dog appreciates you being here.”

Waller was looking down at Hunter with disdain, but there was an unmistakable hint of fear in her eyes. Oliver smiled grimly. If that bulletproof glass shield wasn’t there, Hunter would have torn her half to shreds already. It was why Waller had put them in this room in the first place. After her last encounter with the service dog, she was not taking any chances.

If Hunter had the opportunity, he would rip Waller’s hands off.

And although that was disturbing, Oliver couldn’t help but feel quite proud.


	22. Puppies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> @latinasmoak and @imusuallyobsessed: Puppies.

“I want one.”

“No.”

“Oliver, please. I want one.”

“Felicity. You promised me you weren’t going to do this.”

“Do what?”

“Beg for a puppy.”

Oliver, Felicity and Thea were volunteering at a local rescue shelter in the Glades. The archer had been approached by the shelter’s promotional manager, who had asked him to come along for the day with Hunter to play with some of the dogs and cats there. It was a no kill shelter, but due to low funds they were in danger of having to transfer some of the animals to shelters with kill policies because they couldn’t look after them any more. Oliver immediately agreed, knowing that the shelter could use the publicity, and the media recently had been fascinated with the archer and his service dog, so the pictures of him at the shelter were bound to end up on the front page.

He’d made Felicity promise not to beg him to adopt another dog because dogs were her ultimate weakness. Puppies especially. Hunter was already a lot of responsibility for Oliver and he knew that if they got another dog, he would be the one looking after it most of the time due to the fact that Felicity had a job, and he currently didn’t. He knew that the other dog would end up neglected by him, because as his service dog, Hunter would always be slightly more important to look after, as awful as that sounded.

“Please, please, please, please,” Felicity pleaded. She was sitting on the floor with over a dozen different puppies of different breeds clambering all over her, yapping and licking her face adorably, all desperate for her attention. “Ohmygod look at this one.” She lifted up a spaniel puppy, squealing. “OH, AND THIS ONE!” She raised a tiny corgi pup into the air, her eyes wide with wonder.

Hunter gave a soft growl beside Oliver, amusing the archer - he was jealous. Usually the service dog got all of Felicity’s attention, but now he was competing with a room full of adorable puppies. Oliver reached down to stroke Hunter’s ears, fussing over him for a minute, and although the service dog was still grumpy when he pulled back, he seemed reassured that he wasn’t forgotten.

“Felicity, hun, you know we can’t get another dog,” Oliver said apologetically, guilt striking him as her face fell. “I don’t think we could handle the commitment.”

“B-but -” she stammered. “Another dog would keep Hunter company!”

“Okay,” he allowed. “I agree it would be nice for Hunter to have an animal friend. But you work, and I’m focused a lot of Hunter, so I don’t think it would be fair on the dog. I also don’t think we have a big enough apartment for two dogs.”

His girlfriend was pouting now, clutching a Labrador puppy to her chest. The puppy started licking at her neck, making Hunter snarl again. The puppy whimpered and pulled away, but that just made Felicity cuddle it even more, causing Hunter’s ears to flick back against his skull in distaste at his human being hogged by another dog.

“Then - then we could get a bigger apartment,” Felicity suggested weakly.

Oliver sighed. “Fe-li-ci-ty.”

“I know,” she muttered. “I know, I’m sorry. I promised I wouldn’t beg and here I am… begging.”

“How about a cat?” Thea popped her head up from where she had been buried under another pile of dogs on the other side of the room.

Felicity perked up. “A cat?”

“Yeah, I mean, they don’t really require that much work. Fresh water, feeding, cuddling, yadda, yadda, yadda… but they’re pretty independent.”

Felicity looked eager now, and shot a pleading look towards Oliver. Rubbing the back of his neck with a sigh, Oliver admitted, “As long as Hunter is alright with it, I guess a cat would work.”

“Yes, yes, yes! Thank you, my love!” His girlfriend looked so happy that she probably would have jumped up to hug and kiss him if she hadn’t been buried under a pile of puppies.

They asked the manager if they could go and take a look at the cats. Hunter seemed happy to leave the room of puppies, back to being Felicity’s centre of attention again. As they were leaving, however, to head over to the cat and kitten section of the shelter, Oliver glanced back to see Thea leaning down to pick puppies, one at a time piling them into her arms.

“I’m taking this one home with me. Oh, and this one. This one too. And this one.”


	23. Lost

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> @imusuallyobsessed: Lost

Both Thea and Oliver were freezing, on the verge of hypothermia and they were lost. Horrifically, lost. Even Hunter was shivering by this point, the biting winter wind making his fur coat somewhat useless.

They’d met with their real estate agent, looking to sell the family log cabin up in the mountains, and when driving back down through the valley in the early night, their car had broken down. Felicity and Diggle were coming to pick them up and told them they’d be there as quickly as possible, but as soon as the snow had started coming down, Oliver had realised staying in the car out on the middle of the road was not a good idea. He was claustrophobic, and the idea of being trapped a dark, cold car, buried under a few feet of snow, terrified him. So he’d convinced Thea they needed to get out and find shelter in the mountainside.

They’d found a small, safe cave around half a mile from the road, and Oliver managed to start up a fire. But still, they were freezing. It was mid-winter, and due to the fierce wind and the snow, the fire wasn’t really keeping them very warm. It was imperative they keep it going though, due to the little heat it did provide, and since there were wolves and bears in this area, they needed it to keep the animals away. Hunter was guarding them, pacing back and forth in front of his master and his sister anxiously.

Thea’s teeth started chattering. “O-Ollie, it’s so c-cold,” she whispered, sounding so miserable that it made the archer’s heart clench. “H-how long until D-Digg a-and Felicity g-get h-here?”

He checked his watch. The face of it had ice on the inside. “Another half an hour, at least,” he replied quietly. Seeing how much she was shaking, he inhaled with a shudder and began pulling off the waterproof jacket he was wearing over the top of his winter coat. “Here.”

“O-Ollie, n-no, I can’t,” his little sister protested immediately.

“You need it more than I do.”

“H-How are y-you n-not cold?!”

He avoided her concerned and disbelieving gaze, murmuring, “This was generally what the weather was like on the island during the autumn and winter. After years of it… I got used to the cold. It doesn’t bother me as much anymore.”

Thea looked horrified, and then she wrapped her freezing cold hands around his, making his wince. “A-are you o-okay? Y-you’re - y-you’re n-not flashing b-back, are y-you?”

“I’m fine. But we need to get warm before either of us get frostbite.” He whistled for Hunter to come over, and the dog trotted over, head down and movements slow and lethargic. The cold was getting to him as well. Hunter pressed up against his chest, and Oliver closed his eyes at the heat the service dog seemed to be emitting, wanting nothing more than to crush the dog to his chest, but he pushed Hunter towards Thea. “Thea, lie on my chest and then let Hunter get on top of you. We need to conserve more heat.”

That was how Felicity and Diggle found them, huddled together next to the fire with Oliver and Hunter sandwiching Thea between them. Thea had passed out from exhaustion only ten minutes before they arrived, but she was still shivering, which was a good sign. She still had enough strength and energy for her muscles to vibrate her body to produce more heat. Diggle wrapped the two Queen siblings and Hunter up in mounds of blanket, and the archer spent the the journey back to Starling half lying on the back seat with Hunter on top of him, worriedly licking at his neck and face.

“Hey, Ollie?” Thea muttered sleepily from beside him.

“Hmmm?”

“You… you can go and collect the car tomorrow.”

“Thanks, sis.”

“I think you might need to take a shovel.”

The last time they’d seen the car, it had been buried in snow up to the top of the tyres. Oliver reckoned that was a bit of an understatement.


	24. Darkness Bleeding In (Slade)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> @nvwhovian: Slade

A pained whimper escaped Oliver’s throat as he tried to reach out for Felicity, where she was lying unconscious on the other side of the back seat in the limo. Two year old Annalise was crying on her mother’s lap, traumatised and scared, but unhurt. Shifting again, the archer bit out an agonised cry when pain lanced down his back. He reached out with a shaky hand to touch where the pain was coming from, and he whined when his fingers came away covered in crimson.

He had no idea what had happened. One moment they were being driven back to the Queen manor, both he and Felicity grinning widely as Annalise went on excitedly about a new trick she wanted to teach Hunter, who had been barking excitedly, head on her lap, and the next, there had been a crushing sound, screaming and everything had gone black.

Hunter. Oliver’s eyes flitted over the wreckage as he searched for his service dog, distress streaking through him. He couldn’t see Hunter anywhere. He’d probably managed to scramble out of the wrecked car and had gone for help. The only blood the archer could see was coming from his own back, so he had to have faith that Hunter was unhurt, and simply running for help.

He turned back to his wife and child, trembling. “Felicity?” he whispered. She stirred at his voice, and Oliver’s tone was desperate as he pleaded, “ _Felicity_ , baby, come on, open those eyes. Wake up, honey, come on, wake up.” When his wife slipped into unconsciousness once again, he sobbed. “Hey, Lizzie, baby, look over at daddy.”

“Da?” she whimpered, stretching her hands out urgently, tears streaming down her face. “Da!” Her seatbelt kept her firmly in place, and she began crying even harder, making Oliver start crying as well. “ _Daaaa_!”

“I’m here, Liz, daddy’s here,” he croaked. “Come here, baby, try - try and wiggle out of there and get to daddy, okay?”

“Da,” Lizzie weeped. “Momma, she’s hurt.” 

He nodded, whispering, “Baby, can you try and get her to wake up? Just - just shake her shoulder a little, okay? Try and wake mommy up.”

Lizzie wiped her tears away with a wet snivel, before turning back to her mother and prodding her in the shoulder with a small finger, mumbling, “Momma? Momma, it’s Liz. Momma, wake up.” When Felicity didn’t open her eyes, Lizzie let out a cry of anguish, crying out, “Da, she not waking up! Momma’s real hurt!” Her eyed widened, tears brimming. “Da, what’s - all the red?”

Oh god, all the blood. All of his blood. “Don’t worry about that, baby, just keep trying to wake up mommy.”

His daughter could always see through his lies. It was a trait she’d adopted from Felicity, for sure. “Da, you hurt too?!”

“Don’t worry, sweetheart,” a deep, purring voice sounded from the side. Fear slammed into the archer, a freezing cold feeling sweeping over him. “Your mother and father are fine. Bruised, maybe, with some cuts and possibly concussions, but they are alive. For now.”

“Slade,” Oliver whispered, his voice choked with horror.

The man swam into view above him, and his remaining eye was gleaming. The ferocity and triumph there made the archer flinch, and Oliver instantly reached out for Lizzie, trying to draw her to his chest to protect her.

“Hello, kid,” was all Slade said to him, smirking. Oliver cried out again when the psychopath, who had undoubtedly caused this crash, bent down to unclip Lizzie’s seatbelt and lift her up to cradle the crying toddler against his chest. Lizzie seemed to realise this man wasn’t a friend, because she tried to struggle, but Slade’s grip just tightened on her arms, making her cry more, and Oliver groan. “I don’t believe you’ve had the pleasure of introducing me to your daughter, Oliver.”

“Slade, please. She’s two years old, she - _please_ , leave her alone,” he practically sobbed. “It’s me you want, please, just take me, leave Lizzie and Felicity alone. I’ll do whatever you want, you can do whatever you want to me, just _leave them alone_!”

“Hmm.” Slade made the motion of thinking it over, but it was clearly an act, because he immediately followed by, “Not going to let you off that easy, kid. I promised to destroy everything and everybody you love. Your wife and child are at the top of that list.”

“Slade! _PLEASE_!”

“Quiet, Oliver. You’re frightening young Lizzie here. Lizzie, darling, why don’t you come with Uncle Slade?” The psychopath’s voice was sickly sweet, and Oliver wanted to throw up, struggling weakly, but the blood loss making him dizzy. “Daddy and mommy are in a bit of a predicament. I think Uncle Slade will be able to take better care of you.”

Oliver had never felt more proud of his daughter when Lizzie beat her fists angrily against Slade’s chest, shrieking furiously, “ _Let me go!_ You’re a bad man! I wan’ my da and my momma!”

An enraged expression flashed over Slade’s face, and for a second, Oliver was frozen with terror at the thought of his enemy snapping Lizzie’s neck. “That’s not a very polite way to talk to an elder, sweetheart,” he said, voice dangerously low. “And certainly not to your uncle.”

“You not my uncle!” Lizzie screeched. “Uncle Dig’s my uncle! Unc’ Roy’s my uncle! You’re a bad man, and _I hate you_!”

Slade snapped. Roaring with fury, he threw Annalise to the ground and Oliver shouted out when Lizzie hit the ground hard, screaming and crying loudly. Oliver strained against his seatbelt, desperately trying to get free with his own yell as the psychopath loomed over his daughter.

Just as Slade was about to bring his hand down to hit Lizzie, he gave a terrible howl of pain and staggered sideways, clutching his leg. Oliver had never been so relieved to see Hunter in his entire life. The service dog’s eyes were glistening with that protectiveness over Lizzie that had existed there since the day that his daughter had been born, and there was a feral rage there as well which on any other day, at any other time, would have alarmed the archer.

Hunter had sank his fangs into Slade’s leg, stopping the man from hitting Lizzie, and the service dog slipped in front of his daughter with a ferocious snarl, the weak light from the streetlamp falling down onto his fur and making him appear to glow. If Oliver didn’t know that Hunter was a Husky mix, he would have guessed the canine was actually a wolf. When Slade stumbled upright and ran towards the dog and Lizzie with a scream of anger, Hunter growled and leapt into battle.

Oliver couldn’t keep up with the fight, the blood loss making him fade in and out of consciousness, and his fear and worry for his daughter’s safety causing him to sweep his gaze over to check on her every few seconds. Lizzie, thank god, seemed okay, with a few scrapes over her knees from where she had been thrown, but not badly hurt. She was curled up as close to Felicity as she could get, and from the way it looked, it appeared as if his daughter was trying to shield her mother from the battle.

An agonised yowl startled Oliver back to the fight, and the archer cried out in horror as Slade grabbed Hunter by the legs and slammed him into the ground as hard as he could. Hunter lay still, and for a moment, the archer feared that his service dog had been killed. But then, when Slade was leaning down to make the finishing blow, Hunter lanced upwards and snapped his teeth into Slade’s throat.

Slade’s eyes went wide in shock and he gurgled, hands weakly coming up to scratch at Hunter’s fur. After a minute or two of Hunter digging his fangs into Slade’s neck, the service dog pulled away, and Slade collapsed to the ground, gasping and fingers desperately scraping at his neck wounds. It didn’t take long for a pool of blood to spread out around the ex-ASIS agent, and finally, Slade fell silent, and went still.

“ _HUNTER_!” Oliver shouted, when the service dog seemed to lurch sideways before collapsing onto his side, mewling in pain.

The canine didn’t respond to his call, and didn’t even twitch. Oliver began sobbing in earnest again just as Felicity began waking up, hugging Annalise to her chest and trying to reassure her, but crying uncontrollably herself.

The ambulances and police arrived after around ten minutes. As he and Felicity were extracted from the car wreckage carefully, and the EMTS frantically tried to plug up the bleeding wounds in his back, Oliver caught sight of Quentin rushing forwards and skidding to his knees next to Hunter, wrapping a blanket around his dog.

The last thing he saw was Quentin’s devastated expression before Oliver succumbed to the numbness and darkness, the blood loss finally too much for him as he fell into unconsciousness.


	25. Darkness Bleeding In (Part 2)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> @fallingmeleth: Sick.

Oliver’s vision was hazy and his ears were ringing when he woke up, feeling as if a boulder was resting on top of his chest. The room was bright, and the distinct smell of disinfectant which usually accompanied hospitals made him wrinkle his nose. Shifting weakly, the archer moved his hands underneath scratchy sheets, and as soon as the throbbing pain of the wounds in his back came through, making him grit his teeth, he sat up quickly, scrambling to get out of the bed.

Felicity. Annalise. Hunter. They’d been attacked by Slade, and Felicity had been knocked unconscious, Lizzie thrown around by the psychopath and Hunter… oh god, Hunter. As soon as Oliver swung his legs around to clamber out of the hospital bed, firm hands landed on his shoulders, making him jump.

“Hey, hey, take it easy, son,” Quentin swam into view above him, the concerned yet stern expression on his face causing Oliver to falter, going still. “You’ve got some nasty wounds on your back and a mild concussion, you need to stay lying down.”

“ _Felicity_ ,” Oliver croaked, his voice trembling. “Lizzie?”

Quentin’s strict facade vanished, and he immediately reassured the archer, saying, “It’s okay, they’re fine, Oliver. Felicity had to go for an MRI, but Donna is with her. Thea and Roy are down in the cafeteria with Lizzie right now. Wilson didn’t hurt either or them too badly. Lizzie’s got a few scrapes and she was mostly in shock when you guys arrived here, but she seems okay now. Felicity might have a concussion like you, but she’s fine apart from that. You’re the one with the worst injuries here, Oliver, which is why you need to rest. We’re working on getting a private family room for the three of you because you need to stay overnight for observations, but they’ll be back soon, I promise.”

“Please, can you… I _need_ to see them.” He was desperate to make sure that they were safe, as alright as Quentin claimed they were. It wasn’t that he didn’t trust his father in law, it was that his paranoia and the horrific, suffocating sensation in his chest weren’t going to lessen until he knew for certain.

“As soon as I saw you were waking up, I texted Thea asking her to bring Lizzie up. She’ll be here in a minute. Donna is providing me with updates on Felicity every few minutes, and her MRI will finish soon; she’ll be here in ten.” When Oliver calmed slightly, relieved that his wife and daughter were safe, the older man took a seat in the waiting chair beside his bed, flicking the archer’s arm to get him to lie back down.

“Quentin,” Oliver choked. “Quentin, _Hunter_. Is he…”

The archer released a fractured sound when a sombre expression swept over his father in law’s face. Was Hunter dead? But Quentin shook his head, placing a supportive hand on his arm. “He’s not dead, Oliver, he’s alive. But it’s bad. He’s in emergency surgery with the best veterinarians in Starling right now, Diggle and Lyla are both there with him. Slade broke several of his ribs.”

Oliver’s eyes flashed upwards, that fear and terror he’d experienced when his enemy’s face had first appeared above him re-emerging, resulting in the archer beginning to tremble again. “And Slade, he’s -”

“Dead,” Quentin finished, grimly satisfied. “Hunter tore his throat out. ARGUS has got possession of his body. He’s in a secure morgue at the moment; Lyla wasn’t whether or not you’d… whether they’d need to hold a funeral or not.”

Swallowing, the archer shook his head, falling back onto the pillows and feeling guilt at the immense consolation he felt at the thought of Slade Wilson finally being dead, after years of the ex-ASIS agent tormenting Oliver and his family. “He hasn’t got any family anymore; his son Joe is in a foster home and his parents and siblings are all dead.”

Quentin gave a slow nod, and his tone was hesitant as he said, “Well, we weren’t certain that… _you_ wouldn’t want…” he trailed off.

“He tried to kill my wife and my daughter. I don’t care what they do with his body, as long as he stays dead,” Oliver answered firmly. He considered it a personal victory that his voice didn’t crack. He closed his eyes when his head started to ache and his vision began blurring again, stomach twisting. “God, I hate concussions.”

“If you’re feeling dizzy, might be due to blood loss as well,” Quentin replied, grimacing. “They gave you an IV and a blood transfusion, but Thea told them that you wouldn’t react well if you were still on them when you woke up.”

Oliver blinked rapidly up at him. “How… how long has it been since the crash?”

“Since we found you, it’s been around four hours. Before you ask about the team - Dinah, Rene and Curtis are on patrol looking for the people who helped Slade orchestrate the crash, and Tommy is on comms for them. They all wanted to be here, but Thea told them you would probably prefer they get out onto the streets to catch the guys that did this.”

“Good,” the archer sighed. He winced when his back twinged again. “My back…”

“Yeah, sorry, nurses are refusing to give you pain meds with your concussion. Gonna have to stick it out, I’m afraid.” Quentin’s phone chimed, and he glanced down at it quickly. “Lizzie’s here. She’s going to want to hug you.”

“I can put on a brave face,” Oliver nodded.

The hospital room door opened and Oliver braced himself as Lizzie squirmed out of Roy’s arms and sprinted towards her father, squealing. Holding his breath as his toddler scrambled up onto the bed, Oliver held in his yell of pain as Lizzie threw herself into his arms, embracing him tightly. Thea, Quentin and Roy all smiled, and his little sister murmured something about giving them the room and going to look for Felicity before guiding the two other men out of the room.

“Hey, baby,” he whispered, tears brimming in his eyes as Lizzie refused to let go of him. “Honey, why don’t you sit up next to daddy, okay?”

“No,” she said stubbornly. “Momma said if I see da, must hug him. So I hug you.”

So Lizzie must have seen Felicity when she was awake, before going into her MRI. “Thank you for the cuddle, but daddy is a little bit sore so he can’t -”

“You’re sick, da?” Lizzie screeched, yanking herself back and clutching her hands to her chest.

He was confused. “No, I’m not sick. Why would you think that?”

“Momma gets sore when she sick. If you sore, you sick,” Lizzie said, and Oliver had to give it to her, for a two year old, that was a pretty logical statement. “I look after you, da?”

“Thanks, baby, but I’m not sick,” he reassured her, rubbing his hand up and down her back soothingly. “How are you? Do you feel okay? Grandpa told me you have oww-ies.”

Lizzie’s face turned serious and she lifted her leg up so he could see the bandages over her knees and calves, and showed him her hands, which were covered in Marvel Superhero plasters. “I got lots of oww-ies. That bad man hurt me.”

Oliver’s face fell, and he swallowed, whispering miserably, “I know, baby, the bad man hurt you. I’m sorry I couldn’t stop him, baby, I wanted to stop him from hurting you, but I was trapped in the car.”

“It’s okay, da,” Lizzie reassured him, patting his chest as she readjusted her position so she was sitting cross legged beside him, flicking her loose hazel hair out of her eyes with one hand. “Hunter was there.” Realising something, she frowned and looked around, asking, “Da, where Hunter?”

Oliver froze, not knowing how to answer his daughter without upsetting her. He couldn’t lie to her, but telling her the truth about Hunter being badly hurt and in surgery would upset her. “Uhhh…”

“He got an oww-y?” she questioned.

“Yeah, baby, he got an oww-y,” he whispered.

She looked worried. “Bad oww-y?” When the archer nodded, Lizzie’s bottom lip quivered. “Da, is Hunter not-breath?”

“Not-breath?” he repeated.

Without any warning whatsoever, tears filled her eyes. “Hunter’s not-breath!?”

“What’s -” He cut himself off, thinking rapidly. Not-breath, what was that translated from toddler talk? His daughter was already snivelling, on the verge of crying and grasping his shirt with her hands. It hit Oliver suddenly, and he gasped out, “Oh, baby, no! Hunter’s not dead, baby, he’s breathing, I promise. He’s just badly hurt. He’s got a lot of oww-ies.”

“Where’s he?”

“You know how right now we’re in a hospital? And we come here when we’re hurt?”

She nodded. “Uh huh. We come here a lot, da. You get oww-ies _lots_.”

He cracked a smile, drawing patterns over her back. “Yeah, I do, baby. Well, Hunter is in a hospital as well.”

“This one?” she perked up.

“No, a special hospital for dogs.”

Lizzie paused for a second, processing this. “Can we visit him?”

“I’m sure we can.”

“Are you hungry?” she asked randomly.

“Um. Sure?”

“‘Kay, Aunt Thea and I gonna get you a cookie.”

“A cookie?”

“Uh huh. Imma get one for momma too. She coming here?”

“Yeah, she’ll be here soon, Liz.”

“‘Kay.” She kissed Oliver’s forehead, making him chuckle. Jumping off the bed, she poked his arm, ordering sternly, “No moving. Stay. Grandpa said you need rest, so rest.”

He nodded. “Of course, Doctor Lizzie. I will rest.”

She giggled, and he grinned. She was still giggling when she tottered out of the hospital room. Oliver could just see if he strained his neck that Roy immediately picked the toddler up, pressing a messy kiss to her cheek and making her squeal happily. At least his daughter was okay and happy. Oliver was always concerned that the ordeals that Annalise went through due to being the mayor/Green Arrow’s daughter were going to traumatise her at a young age, but he was constantly surprised by how resilient she was. She bounced back from almost anything.

Thea stuck her head in room, greeting him gently, “Hey, Ollie. Felicity’s being brought in in five minutes, they confirmed she’s got a minor concussion. I just got word from Lyla and Diggle.”

“How’s Hunter?” he asked immediately, heart in his throat.

“He survived the surgery. He’s going to have a rough night ahead of him, but the vets are hopeful. Your service dog is a hero, Ollie, he saved all of you tonight.”

He nodded, breathing out. “Please keep me updated.”

“Of course. You have a long night ahead of you as well, you should probably get some sleep.”

“Not until I see Felicity.”

She smiled. “Thought you might say that.”

When his little sister turned to leave, he called out, “Thea -” She swivelled around, blinking. “Can you please take Lizzie home? Or to your place? I don’t - I don’t want her to stay in the hospital overnight. She’s been here too often, she’s only two years old…”

“I can try and convince her, but your daughter is stubborn, Ollie. I doubt she’ll leave if she knows her mom and dad are staying here.”

“… You have my permission to use ice cream to bribe her.”

Thea saluted him, before ducking out.

Smiling, Oliver settled back into his hospital bed and pulled the sheets up around him, sighing. He needed rest. As soon as Felicity was lying next to him and he was holding her hand, he would sleep. He was concerned about Hunter, but he knew that he wouldn’t be able to get out of the hospital to visit him if he didn’t rest first.

As long as Hunter survived the night, Oliver would be okay.

Oliver didn’t even want to consider what would happen if his service dog succumbed to his wounds overnight.


	26. Butterflies

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> @latinasmoak: Butterflies.

“Aw! Oliver, look!”

Oliver glanced over from where he’d been watching Diggle teach Quentin how to use the new outside grill to where Hunter was sitting out in the Queen manor’s main back lawn, basking in the sunlight. He was resting on his haunches on a patch of grass in the middle of Moira’s prized rose collection, and the service dog was gazing around in wonder as butterflies fluttered around him.

Felicity slipped up beside the archer and pressed up to his side, wrapping her arm around his waist. “You don’t think he’ll try and eat them, do you?”

“Hunter’s too kind hearted and calm to chase butterflies, I think,” Walter smiled, appearing with two glasses of lemonade in hand, which he passed over to Oliver and Felicity.

“Oh, think again,” Thea popped up, pointing.

Hunter was now on his paws, head arched up into the sky as he gazed around interestedly, tail wagging as he whipped himself around in circles, following the butterflies through the air with a spring in his step. When one of the butterflies landed on his nose, however, the service dog froze. He went completely still, staring at the tiny winged insect resting on the top of his muzzle with cross eyes. A wide grin split Oliver’s face; he seemed fascinated. After a moment, Hunter sneezed, and the butterfly flew off again, and Hunter looked so disappointed that he’d disturbed the little flying creature that had been taking a flight break on his nose that Oliver had to laugh.

“Gentle giant,” Walter said, sounding smug that he’d been correct in his thought that Hunter wouldn’t hurt the insects. “Wouldn’t hurt a fly, that wonderful dog.”

“Well, he would if that fly posed a threat to Oliver,” Thea replied, an amused look crossing over her face.

“What do you mean?”

“Didn’t you hear?” Felicity laughed. “Hunter ate a wasp that stung Oliver a few days ago.”

“That poor wasp.”


	27. Allergy

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> @imusuallyobsessed: Allergy.

Felicity placed the cupcake that Moira had just offered to her down on the table, turning an odd pale shade and beads of sweat forming on her forehead. “Mrs Queen? What’s this cupcake made of?”

“It’s a snickerdoodle cupcake, dear.”

“No, but - what’s in it?”

“Oh well. Butter, caster sugar, cinnamon, eggs, baking soda, almond flour and ground hazelnuts -”

“Almond flour?” Felicity repeated, paling even further, and Oliver could now see why she was so panicked, as her voice was becoming choked as her throat began closing up, breathing getting shallower. “Ground hazelnuts?”

Moira looked alarmed now, hands framing Felicity’s shoulders. “Felicity, what’s wrong?”

As Felicity struggled to breathe, red splotches and patches beginning to show up over her chest, neck and face, realisation slammed into Oliver, and within seconds he had crossed the room and was kneeling next to his girlfriend, Hunter worriedly on his heels. “She’s allergic to nuts,” Oliver remembered, eyes wide. “She’s going into anaphylactic shock. Mom, call an ambulance!”

Moira practically sprinted to the room, and it would have been funny how quickly she staggered around the corner, if Oliver didn’t know that his girlfriend was in danger of dying. Hunter was behind him, nudging concernedly at Felicity’s legs with a whine, and as Felicity gasped for air, wild with panic and terror, her hands slipped into Hunter’s fur. She was gripping onto the service dog’s scruff as if it was her lifeline.

“Felicity, your Epipen,” Oliver said urgently. “Is it in your purse?”

She managed to shake her head and choke out, “Home,” and Oliver swore. She’d left the Epipen she usually carried around for emergency situations at home - he remembered that she’d had to renew them recently, and she probably hadn’t even thought of putting a new one into her purse.

“Hunter,” he whipped around to the service dog. “Epipen,” he ordered. “Epipen, Hunter. Epipen!”

The service dog raced off, determination in his gaze, and barely two minutes later, the Husky mix skidded back into the living room with the box in his mouth. He dropped it into Oliver’s open hands and the archer hurriedly administered the Epipen into Felicity’s thigh. It took several minutes to work, and Oliver clutched his girlfriend to his chest worriedly as they waited, but the Epipen kicked in, and soon, Felicity’s breathing was evening out and although her hives remained, she wasn’t struggling for air anymore.

Moira appeared in the doorway, anxiety evident in her gaze. “An ambulance is on the way. I’m so sorry, Felicity, I didn’t realise -”

She shook her head, rasping, “Didn’t tell you. S’okay. Was an accident.”

“Mom, can you please go and get Felicity some water? And maybe some Piriton for later?” He smiled weakly when his mother shot him a short reassuring look before vanishing.

“You - you trained Hunter to collect an Epipen?” Felicity whispered, voice rough. Oliver blushed, and she smiled, gripping his hands tightly. “For me?” Hunter barked, butting his head into Felicity’s chest and licking her face. “Thanks, bud. You probably saved my life.” She pressed a kiss to the archer’s cheek, murmuring, “You too, Oliver. I didn’t know you had Epipens”

“I’m not going to let almond flour or crushed hazelnuts threaten your life when I already put you in enough danger with the Hood work,” Oliver said honestly. “It’s the least I could do, keep an Epipen around for emergencies.”

“Have I mentioned lately that I love you?” She leaned in to kiss him, but Oliver pushed her away with an apologetic glance.

“I ate one of the cupcakes,” he explained.

She pouted.

“I’m pretty sure I’ll be eliminating nuts from my diet entirely though,” he reassured her. “You’ll be in no danger of dying from kissing me from today onwards.”

She pecked his cheek happily. “That’s what I like to hear, mister.”


	28. Iris (West)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> @latinasmoak: Iris (West)

Iris first met Hunter when she turned up at STAR Labs to visit Barry unexpectedly, and walked in during the middle of an emergency situation. The Flash and Arrow had been tracking down and fighting a metahuman who had powers that could force people to remember the worst moments of their lives and relive them in the form of hallucinations or vivid flashbacks.

When Oliver had arrived back at STAR Labs with an unconscious, trembling Barry in his arms, Hunter had rushed up to him, whining and whimpering worriedly. As soon as the archer placed the speedster down onto the medical bed for Caitlin to begin checking over, Hunter tackled Oliver to the ground, and plastered himself on top of him, licking his neck and face with such a concerned expression that Oliver chuckled weakly.

Caitlin said he was ‘scarily calm’ after such a dreadful ordeal, but the archer just shrugged in response, pushing his hood down and passing Cisco his bow so that he could hug his service dog to his chest. As he wrapped his arms around Hunter and exhaled forcefully, the writhing ball of anxiety and stress that had been taking up most of his chest cavity, making it hard to breathe, loosened.

The only reason why he was ‘scarily calm’ was because he had flashbacks and hallucinations on a regular basis, and what that metahuman made him see was nothing worse than what he usually had to suffer through. Sure, Oliver had been freaked out and had a panic attack just like Barry did, except he was used to them, and knew how to deal with them. He had panic attacks nearly every week, and was experienced now in dissociating himself from those overwhelming emotions. Barry didn’t have as much know-how in that area, which was why he’d broken down and was now a quivering mess.

“Oh my god!” Iris shouted, alarmed, when she entered the Cortex to see Barry curled up and shaking on the bed, Caitlin and Cisco both fussing over him, hooking up monitors and administering their newly developed sedatives. “What happened?”

“He’s in a state of mental collapse,” Caitlin informed her gravely, and she quickly grabbed Iris’ wrist when she reached out to touch Barry’s arm. “No, don’t touch him right now. There’s no telling how he’ll react, his sensitivity is off the charts.”

“Is he going to be okay?”

“He should be,” Caitlin tried to reassure her. “It’s just mental shock. A lot of rest and he’ll be fine. We should just let him sleep for the time being.” She injected Barry with a syringe of orange liquid, and his shaking gradually stopped, breathing evening out. “There we go.”

“Caitlin, what happened? How did Barry end up this way?”

Oliver unsteadily got to his feet, running a still shaking hand through his hair. Hunter rumbled and pressed into his legs to keep him balanced, and the archer buried his hands into the service dog’s scruff for support as he relayed to her, “We were trying to bring in a metahuman who can control people’s bad memories, but we both got whammied by him. I hit him with a tracking arrow, but he got away. Barry and I weren’t exactly in the best condition to chase after him.”

“You’re... Oliver, you’re the Arrow?” Iris whispered, eyes wide.

He looked down at his Arrow suit, glanced back up at her and shrugged. “Surprise.”

Iris muttered under her breath, “So that’s why whenever Oliver Queen turns up in Central, the Arrow arrives the next day.”  
“Yeah, he’s really not subtle about stuff like that,” Cisco chuckled.

Oliver could see the confusion in Iris’ eyes when she caught sight of Hunter, but she didn’t ask about the dog, instead asking somewhat accusingly, “So how come Barry is like…” She waved a hand over at the speedster. “ - like that, and you seem fine?”

Managing an apologetic smile, Oliver told her openly, “I have PTSD and experience flashbacks and hallucinations frequently. The experience shook me, but it’s not the worst I’ve been through when it comes to mental trauma.” He paused, letting that sink in, before he admitted, “If I didn’t have Hunter, I would probably be in the same position as Barry, honestly.”

“Hunter?” Iris repeated.

Cisco walked quickly behind them, having gone to fetch a blood pressure cuff for Caitlin, and he butted his head in to announce shortly in a gleeful voice: “He’s Oliver’s service dog.” Then he grinned brilliantly, winked and strode off to help the doctor again.

Oliver rolled his eyes. “Great explanation, Cisco.”

“Thanks, I thought it was too.”

Turning back to Iris, he questioned, “Surely you must have about read about or seen Oliver Queen having a service dog in the news? You’re a journalist, it’s within your line of work.”

“I… never really looked into it that much, I guess,” Iris admitted, sitting beside Barry and running her fingers through his hair to try and soothe him. “I don’t particularly like the gossip side of journalism where reporters pry into people’s personal lives.” Hunter approached her carefully, sniffing her hand, and Iris smiled when he licked her fingers. “Aw. He’s sweet.”

“He is, and he knows perfectly well how adorable he is,” Oliver informed her, tiredly taking a seat on a chair Cisco managed to find for him. As the archer sat down, Hunter pulled away from Iris to rest his head on his lap, comforting Oliver.

“And he can tell that you are stressed out,” Caitlin noted, coming over to take the archer’s blood pressure now, despite Oliver’s glare and his faint noise of protest. “How do you feel at the moment?”

He shrugged. He knew his stress would reflect in his heartbeat and blood pressure, so there was no use in lying. Caitlin could always tell when the archer was lying. “A little bit anxious.”

She nodded, and eyeing how Hunter was reacting to Oliver closely, and how the service dog was refusing to move away from the archer, the doctor questioned, “How has your depression been lately?”

“Better. I’m not sure how this could have an affect on it though.”

Caitlin finished taking his blood pressure and began checking his pupil responses. “Did you hallucinate or have a flashback about anything that has been known to cause a flare up of your PTSD in the past?”

“... Possibly.” He had hallucinated the metahuman being Slade trying to kill him, and flash backed to the fight that had occurred on the freighter off the shore of Lian Yu.

“When’s your next Zoloft dose?”

He checked his watch. “In around six hours.”

“Alright, I want you to take it now and stay overnight so I can monitor you,” Caitlin told him, writing down notes on her tablet. She leaned down to ruffle Hunter’s scruff affectionately before drawing away. “Cisco can set you up with a cot in the corner. Is that okay with you?”

He sighed. “The team aren’t expecting me back until tomorrow evening… so I suppose it’s alright. I think Hunter being here will help Barry with his mental recovery as well.”

Iris piped up then, asking hesitantly, “Should I order pizza in? If we’re staying here all night, we’re going to need food.”

“Thanks, Iris,” Cisco grinned. “Make sure you get shakes, whilst you’re at it?”

She laughed. “Will do, Cisco.”

Turning back to Oliver, Cisco narrowed his eyes at him. “So. Oliver… I’m thinking green sheets, obviously. But what thread count would you prefer?”


	29. Healing (Part 3 {Final Part} of Darkness Bleeding In)

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> @valin-dana: Healing.

“Shouldn't you be in the hospital?”

Oliver glanced up from where he was sitting in the waiting room of the vet clinic, shaking hands twisting nervously together. He'd signed himself out of the hospital AMA at around 6am, having not slept all night; part of that was due to needing to watch over Felicity and ensure his wife was okay, whilst texting Roy and Thea every half an hour to check on his daughter. Slade’s attack had shaken him to the core. The archer knew he wasn't going to be able to sleep until Felicity and Lizzie were both at home with him, and Hunter was confirmed to be alright.

Lyla and Diggle were regarding him with matching concerned expressions. “Man, you have a concussion. You should really be lying down,” Diggle admonished him softly.

“Shouldn't you two be with your daughter and son?” Oliver questioned flatly, staring down at the floor.

“Shouldn't you?”

“Thea and Roy are looking after Lizzie.”

“Dinah is watching Sara and JJ.” Hesitantly, Diggle took another step forwards, laying a hand on Oliver’s shoulder. When the archer tensed instinctively, still on high alert and vigilance after last night, his partner rubbed his shoulder soothingly with a quiet, “Easy there, brother.”

“Why are you here, Oliver?” Lyla asked, bending slightly to look him in the eye. “You really should be resting in hospital.”

“I need to see Hunter,” he croaked.

“Do Quentin and Donna know you’re here?”

“Quentin drove me here, and I texted Donna. I _need_ to see Hunter.”

Lyla nodded understandingly. “Okay. Does the vet know you’re here?”

“Yeah, I - I spoke with him a few minutes ago. He says that Hunter will have to stay for a week or so but that I can see him now…”

Lyla breathed out in relief. “He survived the night then.”

Oliver ran his fingers through his hair, eyes squeezed shut. “There still could be complications,” he rasped. Just thinking about Hunter possibly not waking up one day made him tear up, and he leant into Diggle’s side, sniffling. “I - I can't imagine my life without him.”

“You won’t have to, hun,” Lyla soothed, slowly sitting down beside the archer. She cautiously reached her hand out to settle in on top of Oliver’s knee, and although Oliver had to fight back a flinch, he allowed it to stay there. “I’m sure Hunter will be fine.”

“Broken ribs,” he said, voice breaking. “Punctured lung. They - they wanted to put him down, Lyla. Last night, they -” He couldn’t hold back his emotions anymore, letting out a single, anguished sob. “The vet told me they asked you two for permission and -”

“And we didn’t let them,” Diggle interrupted him, expression set into one of hard resolve. “Because Hunter is strong, Oliver, and he will survive this.”

“He could get an infection. He could die tomorrow.”

“But he won’t,” Lyla shook her head fiercely. “Because he is getting the best possible care, and if we have to, we will call Barry and get him to bring Caitlin down here to kick those vets’ asses into gear.”

“I just can’t help but feel as if I… as if I failed him,” Oliver muttered, scrubbing his wet eyes viciously with his hands. “As his owner I’m meant to _protect_ him.”

“I don’t think we have to remind you, Oliver, that Hunter is not a normal dog. He’s technically your bodyguard, and he’s an ex-soldier. He knew what he was getting into. He got injured during his service.”

“To _me_.”

“To his charges,” Lyla corrected. “He saved you, Felicity and Lizzie from Slade.”

“It’s my fault. If I hadn’t -”

“Oliver, if you blame this on yourself because of shit that went down with Slade over a decade ago, I will not hesitate to slap you,” Lyla cut in sternly. “As many times as it takes to snap you back into reality.”

“Look, man, if you want to play the blame game, fine,” Diggle sighed. “But do it after seeing Hunter, alright? He needs you right now and in all honestly, I think you need him as well.”

The vet appeared in the doorway and the archer went still, staring up at him with the sickly feeling of dread turning his stomach. It wasn't that he dreaded seeing Hunter - it was more the idea of seeing the service dog in such a vulnerable, injured state that agitated him. The vet motioned for him to follow and Oliver stiffly got to his feet, wrapping his arms around himself. He heard Diggle muttering to Lyla that he was going with Oliver and silently exhaled, relaxing slightly. At least if he fell apart, he knew his brother would be there to pick up the pieces for him.

As they strode down the corridor towards the recovery room, Diggle tried to distract Oliver. Asked him about Quentin and Donna, about how Felicity was doing, what their plans for Lizzie’s third birthday were. Although the archer’s anxiety was heightened, he found himself calming, slipping into the conversation up until the point where they entered the room, and his wary gaze fell upon his service dog.

“Oh _god_ ,” Oliver choked out, tears springing to his eyes as he raised a trembling hand to place over his mouth. “ _Hunter…_ ”

The service dog looked so weak. But he was alive. His fur was all shaggy and matted, and there were mounds of blood spotted bandages over his chest, but he was breathing. At first, the archer thought he was sleeping, eyes closed as his chest rose and fell shallowly, but as soon as Oliver stook a step forwards, calling out the dog’s name in a broken voice, Hunter’s eyes slowly opened. The blue was no less intense, but there was a sheer exhaustion within them that caused another sob to burst out of the archer’s throat. Drowsy, Hunter very weakly raised his head from the table, managing a whine before he was forced to lie back down due to lack of energy and strength.

Oliver had to be supported by both Diggle and Lyla due to how numb and useless his legs felt, his light-headedness causing him to stumble. As soon as they reached the medical table, the archer slid his fingers into Hunter’s soft fur, mapping out the splotches of colour and the colour patterns within it, grooming him with trembling hands.

“Hey, buddy,” Oliver whispered, not even bothering to hide his tears anymore. “How’re you doing?”

Hunter let out a heavy sigh, emitting a rumble. He fixed his tired gaze onto Oliver for a few seconds, and the archer could tell he was trying to convey sympathy and comfort, before the dog’s eyes slipped closed.

When the service dog jerked his head up into Oliver’s hand, he murmured, “Yeah, I’m tired too, bud. You wanna get some rest? I’m right here.” He leant down to press a kiss against Hunter’s forehead, and when the dog’s paw caught his arm, he whispered, “I love you, bud. Don’t ever forget that. You’re my hero, and you are a shining beacon of hope in my life. Things never would have worked out with Felicity without you, we never would have had Lizzie - I would be dead without you. You’ve saved my life in so many ways, and I love you so much. So please, _please_ fight for me. You _have_ to get better, Hunter, _please_. You have to fight to live, have to fight to come _home_. You have to.”

The service dog blinked blearily up at him, and when Hunter bumped his fingers with his muzzle with a quiet purr-like growl, Oliver knew that he was saying without words: _I promise. I’ll fight for you._

“I love you, buddy.”

“Oliver, it's time to go.”

“ _No_ ,” he protested desperately, yanking himself out of Diggle’s grasp. The man was trying to drag him towards the door, and the archer realised he’d missed the vet saying that they needed to put Hunter on pain meds, so needed to take him back to the recovery kennels. “Dig, no. _Please._ ”

“Oliver, you’re not thinking straight. You’re falling apart, and right now, Hunter needs to rest. We can come back and visit him tomorrow once he’s slightly better, and once you’re more stable.”  
Oliver fought, calling out his dog’s name frantically, anxiety taking over and making him feel as if he was on fire, but Diggle still managed to drag him out of the room. Loud sobs erupted from his throat when the archer saw Hunter raise his head weakly, whining as he tried to comfort his master as he was meant to, but couldn't reach him.

As soon as the door closed, Oliver pretty much collapsed into Lyla’s open arms, crying freely. Diggle and his wife rested their hands on his back and shoulder blades supportively, hushing him gently and trying to calm him down, to no avail. His head was pounding and the wounds on his back were aching, and Oliver had to pull away suddenly to gag, the nausea due to his dizziness and also his anxiety making him feel overwhelmingly sick.

“Let’s get you back the hospital, okay, honey?” Lyla rubbed his back. “I think you need to get some more rest, sleep the nausea off.”

“Hunter…”

“You can't be here for him if you’re not well rested and healthy yourself,” Lyla said softly, threading her fingers through the hair at the back of his neck in a comforting, motherly manner, which made him sigh. “You’ll collapse. And you need to stay strong for your wife and daughter.”

“Oh god, Felicity and Lizzie.” Oliver's voice trembled. “They’re going to be devastated. What am I going to tell them?”

“The truth,” Diggle responded, crossing his arms. “And you let them and us support you whilst Hunter is incapable of duty.” He shot him a stern warning look when Oliver opened his mouth to protest. “Don't, Oliver. Your anxiety and PTSD are already acting up and nobody can blame you for that after last night. You can worry about Hunter, but you have to look after yourself as well.”

“That's what Hunter would want,” Lyla agreed.

Dazed, Oliver repeated softly, “What Hunter would want…”

“Is Quentin still outside?” The archer bobbed his head in a nod to his friend’s wife, and Lyla inclined her head. “Okay, he and I will take you back to the hospital and John will stay here with Hunter.”

“I want to stay here.”

“I know, man. But you need to rest so that concussion gets better. We’ll bring you back to see him tomorrow morning. Alright?”

“... Alright.”

* * *

They did take him back there the next morning. And the morning after that. And the morning after that. The fifth visit, Felicity came with Oliver, and although his wife cried her eyes out, Oliver didn’t that time, just holding her and feeling as if his chest was going to burst open due to the constricting forces within it. The sixth visit, he and Felicity brought Lizzie along, and as soon as Lizzie started asking confusedly with tears in her eyes if Hunter’s soreness was going to lead to not-breath, Oliver left the room to make sure that he didn’t start weeping in front of his daughter.

He didn’t cry at any of the visits after those ones either, until the day came, the fourteenth visit, where the vet announced that Hunter was well enough to go home.

The fifteenth day after Slade’s attack, Oliver fell to his knees in the parking lot of the vets’ in the early hours of the morning as Hunter slowly loped towards him, blue eyes bright again with a relief and happiness that the archer had never seen before. As soon as he had Hunter in his arms, and the dog was whining into his neck, licking under his jaw enthusiastically to try and calm his master down, Oliver started crying again.

This time, however, he was crying with happiness.


	30. Interruption

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> @fallingmeleth: Interruption.

Hunter was dozing quietly on Felicity’s couch, content to rest whilst his master and his girlfriend took a private nap in their bedroom, when a sudden smashing noise and a groan snapped him to attention. Raising his head, Hunter got to his paws in alarm, lips drawing back in a concerned whine when another muffled moan sounded from behind the closed bedroom door.

He instantly rushed up towards the door, a protective snarl on his lips and tail between his legs. Was Oliver being attacked? Was his master in danger? He had to protect him, protect Felicity. The service dog somehow had to break through the door and get into that room to defend his charges.

He debated barking to try and alert Oliver and Felicity to letting him in, but as soon as another noise that sounded as if one of them was in pain was cried out, all of Hunter’s usual service dog manners went out the window. Growling, he jumped up onto the door handle and slammed it down, butting his head against the door to force it open.

The door collided with the wall with a bang, and Hunter raced inside, ears perked forwards aggressively as he loosed a violent, protective snarl, jumping up onto the bed where Oliver and Felicity lay before even taking in his surroundings, desperate to ensure that his master and favourite human were both safe and unharmed.

Instead of thanking Hunter and praising him, however, Oliver yelled out and Felicity screamed, yanking the blankets up towards them to cover them both. It was only then that Hunter realised they were both naked. He cocked his head in confusion when he saw Felicity’s mussed hair and flushed cheeks, and the blush that spread down Oliver’s neck to his bare chest. There was a strange smell in the air that made him wrinkle his muzzle.

“Hunter, get out!” Oliver shouted, looking so shocked and mortified that it made the service dog whimper in confusion. He tried to snuffle at Oliver to check him over, wondering why he made those pained noises, but Oliver spluttered and the archer shoved him away by the muzzle, making the service dog growl. “Hunter, STOP!”

“Oh my god,” Felicity moaned, burying her face in the pillow. “This can’t be happening.”

Whining, Hunter tried to walk forwards on top of the bed to comfort her, noting how distressed she looked, but Oliver just looked at him sternly with wide eyes, ordering pleadingly, “Hunter, please! Out!”

He growled, refusing to leave. One of them had been making sounds as if they were being hurt, and he needed to stay in here with them to make sure they weren’t harmed again.

“Our _one_ free night this week, Oliver!” Felicity continued to groan, thumping her pillow frustratedly. “Why didn’t we lock the bedroom door?”

“Well, we were in a bit of a rush if you remember, honey.”

“Yes, well, now we can’t do anything at any pace at all, can we, because your service dog is in bed with us!”

“Hunter, please,” Oliver pleaded, shoving at Hunter’s side with his foot. “Please, I promise you, we are both fine, we are not hurt.”

Narrowing his eyes, Hunter tilted his head. If they weren’t hurt, why were they making those noises? Deciding that Oliver was being stupid, and one of them was most definitely hurt and hiding it from Hunter, the service dog huffed stubbornly and lay down on top of Oliver’s legs. The archer protested and tried to get him to leave again, but Hunter had made his decision. He wasn’t moving.

“Our one free night,” Felicity said miserably, burying her head into Oliver’s collar bone. “Our one free night to have sex, and now it’s ruined.”

Oliver scowled at Hunter. “Thanks a lot, buddy.”

 _You’re welcome_ , Hunter growled in reply, before settling his head down to sleep.


	31. Pararazzi/Stalker

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> @queeningrid: Paparazzi  
> @imusuallyobsessed: Stalker

There was only really one problematic incident due to Hunter in the entire time that he performed his duties as Oliver’s service dog, and it wasn’t even his fault in all actuality. It was the fault of a member of the paparazzi who was stalking them.

Six months after the reveal to the public that Oliver had a service dog, the media had mostly calmed down about Hunter. But not this paparazzi. He wouldn’t leave them alone. He would stand outside Queen manor and Queen Consolidated waiting for the opportunity to take photos of the archer and his service dog. He would sneak into Verdant and try and break into the manager’s office to set up a remote controlled hidden camera. Worst of all, if Oliver was ever out for lunch with his family and friends, or was out on a date with Felicity, this guy would turn up and ambush him.

The photographer was stalking Oliver and Hunter. Moira and Walter attempted to file harassment charges against the man, but they didn’t stick, as much as Lance and Laurel tried to help. So this guy was allowed to continue following the archer and his service dog around whenever and however he pleased.

The incident occurred on a Tuesday morning when Oliver and Diggle were going to meet up with Felicity for breakfast. The photographer appeared from behind a corner and jabbed his camera into Oliver’s face, taking picture after picture, and due to the sudden flashes, Oliver froze. He was thrown into a flashback, remembering the sparks of electricity that had flown into his face when ARGUS had tortured him as part of his ‘resistance’ training. Diggle was talking to Carly on his cell phone when the stalking paparazzi jumped out, so wasn’t able to get in front of Oliver in time. Hunter, however, because of his close proximity to the archer, was able to push the guy back.

And then Hunter bit him.

It was the first time Hunter had properly bitten somebody in defence of Oliver, and to the archer, it was shocking. It was shocking to the public as well, as the paparazzi made sure that it was on the front cover of every newspaper in the city the next day.

_OLIVER QUEEN’S SERVICE DOG ATTACKS PHOTOGRAPHER._

There were accusations that Hunter was a danger to the public, and calls for the service dog to be put down. Nobody knew what actually happened, because nobody would report it - all of the reporters and media outlets within Starling City were behind the stalker photographer, saying that it was an utter disgrace that a service dog had bitten an innocent photographer, out doing his job.

With all of the talk about Hunter being taken away from him and being put down, Oliver slipped into a depressive spiral. After being so dependant on the service dog for the last six months, he was absolutely terrified of how this life might continue if he didn’t have Hunter by his side. He ended up having multiple anxiety attacks, one of them in a public setting when he, Tommy and Hunter had been bombarded by the media when arriving at Verdant. At least then they actually caught on camera and on video Hunter helping Oliver and doing the duties the service dog performed for his distressed master. There were still questions about whether or not Hunter was actually dangerous or not, though.

In the end, Felicity managed to find various CCTV footage clips of this photographer actively stalking Oliver and Hunter, and released the clips online, complete with a video of the photographer ambushing the archer on that Tuesday morning, forcing him into a meltdown. It was proved to the public and to the media that Hunter had just been doing what any dog would do - protecting his master.

Lance made sure that the stalker photographer was charged with harassment, assault and falsifying a testimony. The photographer was severely discredited. A restraining order was put up, but that didn’t matter - the guy was going to jail.

Hunter was hailed as a hero, and everything was peaceful again. The incident was mostly forgotten.

But Oliver never forgot that horrific feeling of knowing that one day, Hunter might be gone.


	32. Fake Ball Throw

**Summary for the Chapter:**

> @lillymarleene: Fake ball throw.

“You want the ball, bud? You want the ball!?”

Hunter barked enthusiastically, crouched down with his hind quarters up in the air. His tail was wagging so fast that his entire body was wiggling with excitement. Yes, he wanted the ball. As soon as Oliver had brought out the tennis ball and opened the back door of the Queen house that lead to the gardens, Hunter had wanted the ball. He only ever got to play with his favourite tennis balls when he was off duty, and although his master was trying to let him off duty at least once a day in the evenings for some wind down time, that hadn’t been happening very recently. A flare up of Oliver’s PTSD and depression due to some rather unpleasant arguments between the archer and his mother meant that Hunter had been on double duty too often for his liking - if only because that meant that Oliver was suffering mentally a lot more.

He took every opportunity to play with his master as it came, and he enjoyed every second of it.

“Come on, buddy, you want the ball?” Oliver had an amused look on his face as he waved the tennis ball in front of Hunter.

The service dog bit back his frustrated growl to give a sharp bark instead. _Of course I want the ball! Stop teasing me and throw it!_

“I think you should throw the ball, man,” Diggle called out, from where he was resting and watching on the patio.

_YES YES PLEASE THROW THE BALL._

Oliver lobbed his arm and Hunter dashed off. He was racing, paws barely touching the ground and ears buzzing, sprinting off to wear he predicted the ball was going to land and - Hunter skidded to a halt, confused. The ball wasn’t here. But - the service dog was never usually wrong. Oliver had a specific type of throw, and Hunter could almost always predict the ball’s trajectory and landing point accurately. But now the ball wasn’t here.

He plonked down on his behind, baffled, and raised his head to let out a snarl when he heard Oliver and Diggle’s hysterical laughing.

 _This isn’t funny!_ Hunter barked at them angrily. _The ball is missing! This is a major complication!_

Oliver was still laughing, so Hunter narrowed his eyes, stood up and trotted over to him. He slowly sank down onto his haunches in front of his master, eyeing him suspiciously. His eyes widened when he realised that Oliver was holding one of his hands behind his back… almost as if he was holding something.

_Oh, you wouldn’t._

When the service dog gave a disgruntled huff, the archer wiped the tears from his eyes to reveal that he was holding the tennis ball behind his back. He’d never thrown it to begin feel. Feeling betrayed, Hunter shot him a miffed expression before getting up and marching away, head and tail held high.

_You think fake ball throws are funny, do you?_

“Aw, come on, Hunter, it was just a joke,” Oliver chuckled. “Come back here, I’ll throw it properly for you this time.”

Huffing again, the service dog turned around with his ears flat against his head. _Fine. Only if you throw it properly._

Oliver whipped Hunter up into an excited state again so that adrenalin was pumping through the pup’s veins as he bounced around, tongue lolling out. Then Oliver lanced his arm forwards again, and Hunter turned, ready to run - but then he froze.

No ball. Once again.

Oliver began laughing.

Slowly turning back to his master with his ears flattening to his skull, Hunter seethed, _Oh, I’m so pissing in your shoes tonight._


End file.
